WHAT ARE THE BRANCHES OF PHYSIOLOGY? - BIOLOGY - 2025

The branches of physiology are made up of cellular, human, plant, environmental, evolutionary, and comparative physiology. Physiology is the study of normal function within living creatures. It is a discipline of biology, covering a range of topics including organs, anatomy, cells, biological compounds, and how they all interact to make life possible.

From ancient theories to molecular laboratory techniques, physiological research has shaped the understanding of the body's components, how they communicate, and how they keep Earth-dwelling beings alive.

The study of physiology is, in a sense, the study of life. Asks questions about the inner workings of organisms and how they interact with the world around them.

The importance of physiology is that it tests how the organs and systems within the body work, how they talk to each other, and how they combine their efforts to create favorable conditions for survival.

Researchers in the field can focus on anything from microscopic organelles in cell physiology to more cumbersome topics, such as ecophysiology, which looks at entire organisms and how they adapt to environments.

Main branches of physiology

Because physiology encompasses diverse and broad topics, several branches have been created for your better understanding. Here are the main branches of physiology.

Cell physiology

It is the biological study of the activities that take place in a cell to keep it alive. The absorption of water by the roots, the production of food in the leaves and the growth of the shoots towards the light are examples of plant physiology.

The heterotrophic metabolism of foods derived from plants and animals and the use of movement to obtain nutrients (even if the organism itself remains in a relatively stationary position) are characteristic of animal physiology.

The term cell physiology is often applied specifically to the physiology of membrane transport, neuronal transmission, and (less frequently) muscle contraction.

In general, these cover the digestion of food, the circulation of the blood and the contraction of muscles, and are therefore important aspects of human physiology.

Human physiology

Human physiology is the study of how the human body works. This includes the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical, and biochemical functions of healthy human beings, from the organs to the cells of which they are composed.

The human body consists of many interactive organ systems. These interact to maintain homeostasis, keeping the body in a stable state with safe levels of substances like sugar and oxygen in the blood.

Each system contributes to homeostasis, of itself, of other systems, and of the entire body. Some combined systems are named jointly. For example, the nervous system and the endocrine system work together like the neuroendocrine system.

The nervous system receives information from the body, and transmits this to the brain through nerve impulses and neurotransmitters.

At the same time, the endocrine system releases hormones, such as to help regulate blood pressure and hormone volume.

Together, these systems regulate the internal environment of the body, maintaining blood flow, posture, energy supply, temperature, and acid balance (pH).

Plant physiology

Plant physiology is a branch related to the functioning of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology, plant ecology, phytochemistry, cell biology, genetics, biophysics, and molecular biology.

Fundamental processes are studied such as:

• photosynthesis
• the breathing
• The plant nutrition
• the hormonal functions of plants
• tropisms
• the nastic movements
• photomorphogenesis
• circadian rhythms
• the physiology of environmental stress
• seed germination
• latency and function of stomata and perspiration.

Environmental physiology

Also known as ecophysiology. The particular name applied to the branch is specific to the point of view and objectives of the investigation.

Whatever name is applied, it is all about the ways in which plants respond to their environment and thus overlaps with the field of ecology.

Environmental physiology examines the plant's response to physical factors such as radiation (including light and ultraviolet radiation), temperature, fire, and wind.

Likewise, it studies the hydric relations and the stress of drought or flood, the exchange of gases with the atmosphere, as well as the cycle of nutrients such as nitrogen and carbon.

Environmental physiologists are in charge of examining the response of plants to biological factors.

This includes not only negative interactions, such as competition, herbivory, disease, and parasitism, but also positive interactions, such as mutualism and pollination.

Evolutionary physiology

Evolutionary physiology is the study of physiological evolution, that is, the way in which the functional characteristics of individuals in a population of organisms have responded to selection through multiple generations during the history of the population.

Consequently, the range of phenotypes studied by evolutionary physiologists is wide, including life history, behavior, the functioning of the whole organism, functional morphology, biomechanics, anatomy, classical physiology, endocrinology, biochemistry, and molecular evolution.

Comparative physiology

Comparative physiology is a branch of physiology that studies and explores the diversity of functional characteristics of various types of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary physiology and environmental physiology.

Comparative physiology seeks to describe how different types of animals meet their needs. Use physiological information to reconstruct evolutionary relationships of organisms. Clarifies the mediation of interactions between organisms and their environments.

Identify example systems for studying specific physiological functions and use the animal kingdom as an experimental variable.

Comparative physiologists often study organisms that live in "extreme" environments, such as deserts, because they hope to find substantially clear signs of evolutionary adaptation.

An example is the study of the water balance in desert-dwelling mammals, which have been found to manifest kidney specializations.

References

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