Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of the normal
function in
living systems. A
sub-discipline of
biology, its focus is in how organisms, organ systems,
organs,
cells, and
biomolecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. Given the size of the field, it is divided into, among others, animal physiology (including that of
humans),
plant physiology,
cellular physiology, microbial physiology (see
microbial metabolism),
bacterial physiology, and
viral physiology.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to those who make significant achievements in this discipline by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In medicine, a
physiologic state is one occurring from normal body function, rather than
pathologically, which is centered on the abnormalities that occur in animal diseases, including humans.
