文档介绍
PAGEPAGE1IntroductiontoPhysiologyIntroductionPhysiologyisthestudyofthefunctionsoflivingmatter.Itisconcernedwithhowanorganismperformsitsvariedactivities:howitfeeds,howitmoves,howitadaptstochangingcircumstances,howitspawnsnewgenerations.Thesubjectisvastandembracesthewholeoflife.Thesuccessofphysiologyinexplaininghoworganismsperformtheirdailytasksisbasedonthenotionthattheyareintricateandexquisitemachineswhoseoperationisgovernedbythelawsofphysicsandchemistry.Althoughsomeprocessesaresimilaracrossthewholespectrumofbiology—thereplicationofthegeneticcodefororexample—manyarespecifictoparticulargroupsoforganisms.Forthisreasonitisnecessarytodividethesubjectintovariouspartssuchasbacterialphysiology,plantphysiology,andanimalphysiology.Tostudyhowananimalworksitisfirstnecessarytoknowhowitisbuilt.Afullappr