International Liver Congress

Human Anatomy & Physiology

Anatomy is the study of the structure and relationship between body parts. Physiology is the study of the function of body parts and the body as a whole Gross (macroscopic) anatomy is the study of body parts visible to the naked eye, such as the heart or bones. The history of anatomy extends from the earliest examinations of sacrificial victims to the sophisticated analyses of the body performed by modern scientists. The study of human anatomy can be traced back thousands of years, at least to the Egyptians, but the science of anatomy, as we know it today, did not develop until far later. The development of the study of anatomy gradually built upon concepts that were understood during the time of Galen and slowly became a part of the traditional medical curriculum. It has been characterized, over time, by a continually developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the body. Physiology from Ancient Greek (physis), meaning 'nature, origin', and (-logia), is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical and physical functions in a living system. According to the classes of organisms, the field can be divided into medical physiology, animal physiology, plant physiology, cell physiology, and comparative physiology. Central to physiological functioning are biophysical and biochemical processes, homeostatic control mechanisms, and communication between cells. Physiological state is the condition of normal function, while pathological state refers to abnormal conditions, including human diseases.