IntroductiontoPhysiologyIntroductionPhysiologyisthestudyofthefunctionsoflivingmatter.Itisconcernedwithhowanorganismperformsitsvariedactivities:howitfeeds,howitmoves,howitadaptstochangingcircumstances,howitspawnsnewgenerations.Thesubjectisvastandembracesthewholeoflife.Thesuccessofphysiologyinexplaininghoworganismsperformtheirdailytasksisbasedonthenotionthattheyareintricateandexquisitemachineswhoseoperationisgovernedbythelawsofphysicsandchemistry.Althoughsomeprocessesaresimilaracrossthewholespectrumofbiology—thereplicationofthegeneticcodefororexample—manyarespecifictoparticulargroupsoforganisms.Forthisreasonitisnecessarytodividethesubjectintovariouspartssuchasbacterialphysiology,plantphysiology,andanimalphysiology.Tostudyhowananimalworksitisfirstnecessarytoknowhowitisbuilt.Afullappreciationofthephysiologyofanorganismmustthereforebebasedonasoundknowledgeofitsanatomy.Experimentscanthenbecarriedouttoestablishhowparticularpartsperformtheirfunctions.Althoughtherehavebeenmanyimportantphysiologicalinvestigationsonhumanvolunteers,theneedforprecisecontrolovertheexperimentalconditionshasmeantthatmuchofourpresentphysiologicalknowledgehasbeenderivedfromstudiesonotheranimalssuchasfrogs,rabbits,cats,anddogs.Whenitisclearthataspecificphysiologicalprocesshasacommonbasisinawidevarietyofanimalspecies,itisreasonabletoassumethatthesameprincipleswillapplytohumans.Theknowledgegainedfromthisapproachhasgivenusagreatinsightintohumanphysiologyandendoweduswithasolidfoundationfortheeffectivetreatmentofmanydiseases.Thebuildingblocksofthebodyarethecells,whicharegroupedtogethertoformtissues.Theprincipaltypesoftissueareepithelial,connective,nervous,andmuscular,eachwithitsowncharacteristics.Manyconnectivetissueshaverelativelyfewcellsbuthaveanextensiveextracellularmatrix.Incontrast,smoothmuscleconsistsofdenselypackedlayersofmusclecellslinkedtogetherviaspecificcelljunctions.Organssuchasthebrain,theheart,thelungs,theintestines,andtheliverareformedbytheaggregationofdifferentkindsoftissues.Theorgansarethemselvespartsofdistinctphysiologicalsystems.Theheartandbloodvesselsformthecardiovascularsystem;thelungs,trachea,andbronchitogetherwiththechestwallanddiaphragmformtherespiratorysystem;theskeletonandskeletalmusclesformthemusculoskeletalsystem;thebrain,spinalcord,autonomicnervesandganglia,andperipheralsomaticnervesformthenervoussystem,andsoon.Cellsdifferwidelyinformandfunctionbuttheyallhavecertaincommoncharacteristics.Firstly,theyareboundedbyalimitingmembrane,theplasmamembrane.Secondly,theyhavetheabilitytobreakdownlargemoleculestosmalleronestoliberateenergyfortheiractivities.Thirdly,atsomepointintheirlifehistory,theypossessa生理学简介介绍生理学是研究生物体功能的科学。它研究生物体如何进行各种活动，如何饮食，如何运动，如何适应不断改变的环境，如何繁殖后代。这门学科包罗万象，涵盖了生物体整个生命过程。生理学成功地解释了生物体如何进行日常活动，基于的观点是生物体好比是结构复杂而灵巧的机器，其操作受物理和化学规律控制。尽管从生物学整个范畴看，生物体某些活动过程是相似的——如基因编码的复制——但许多过程还是某些生物体群组特有的。鉴于此有必要将这门学科分成不同部分研究，如细菌生理学、植物生理学和动物生理学。要研究一种动物如何活动，首先需要了解它的构成。要充分了解一个生物体的生理学活动就必须掌握全面的解剖学知识。一个生物体的各部分起着什么作用可通过实验观察得知。尽管我们对志愿者进行了许多重要的生理调查，但是实验条件需要精确控...
