Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically tied and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.
Time plays a key role in our perception of pain and administering pain relief and medication for chronic pain-related depression may be more effective at certain times of day, UCL and University of Toronto researchers say.
During pregnancy, women can reduce their risk of developing a hypertensive disorder by nearly 30% by limiting sedentary time to no more than eight hours a day and increasing light, everyday physical activity to at least seven hours a day, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2026.
A machine-learning analysis of brain waves recorded during sleep may help identify people at high risk of developing dementia, according to a study led by UC San Francisco and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Heart disease is the leading cause of adult death worldwide, making cardiovascular disease diagnosis and management a global health priority. An echocardiogram, or cardiac ultrasound, is one of the most commonly used imaging tools employed by physicians to diagnose a variety of heart diseases and conditions.
Obesity is widely known for increasing the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but its damaging effects on the skeleton are often overlooked. Excess body fat can disrupt bone metabolism, weaken bone quality, and impair fracture repair.
A review in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology examines emerging evidence linking glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), the gut microbiome, and obesity treatment outcomes. The authors conclude that microbiome changes seen during therapy are most likely driven by diet, behavior, and weight loss, although microbial profiling may eventually help predict patient responses.
Researchers found that very small numbers of gut bacteria can translocate to the brain in mice, particularly when gut barrier permeability increases due to a Paigen diet. Evidence suggests the vagus nerve may serve as a partial route for this gut-to-brain microbial movement.
Cells behave like cities and organelles carry out infrastructural roles: Mitochondria are powerhouses, the endoplasmic reticulum serves as a transport hub and lysosomes help with waste disposal.
Low testosterone in itself can cause a variety of health problems, but the addition of a poor diet can exacerbate certain conditions. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is one example that approximately 40% of adult men worldwide currently suffer from and has become a global problem.
Smoking cannabis can do more than blur memories. It can reshape them.
Women who experience pregnancy complications, like preeclampsia, pre-term birth, stillbirth or having a baby that is small for gestational age, may face an increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life.
Every time we feel a gentle tap on the skin, specialized nerve cells convert that physical force into an electrical signal that the brain can interpret as touch. While scientists have long known that a protein called PIEZO2 acts as a key sensor for touch, it remained unclear why PIEZO2 is specialized for the localized mechanical forces experienced by sensory neurons, whereas its close relative PIEZO1 responds to broader mechanical stresses such as those generated when cells stretch, as occurs in blood vessels.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and approximately 30% of patients develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition that does not respond adequately to conventional antidepressant therapies.
The world's first lab-based tick feeding system for bush ticks, developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne, has transformed the study of ticks and how they transmit disease. The novel, host-free technology reduces the need for animal experiments in tick studies, facilitating more ethical, reproducible research.
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a clinically significant cause of infertility that affects between 1 to 3% of women of childbearing age.
When a cocaine addict relapses, it isn't a matter of personal failure - it's the biological result of their brain's rewiring, new research finds.
Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a hidden "movement map" deep within the brain - a discovery that could help surgeons reduce side effects from epilepsy procedures and guide future treatments for speech and movement disorders.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not only characterized by strongly encoded traumatic memories, but also by disrupted coordination across brain networks.
Just a few days in simulated microgravity can subtly change the way women's blood clots, sparking bigger questions about health monitoring protocols for astronauts who can spend six months or more in orbit, say Simon Fraser University researchers.
Periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the gums, affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is increasingly linked to systemic disorders beyond the oral cavity.
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