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PHYSIOLOGY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Processes and functions of an organism
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("physiology" is a kind of...):
bodily property (an attribute of the body)
Domain member category:
fire (generate an electrical impulse)
facilitate (increase the likelihood of (a response))
Derivation:
physiologic; physiological (of or consistent with an organism's normal functioning)
physiological (of or relating to the biological study of physiology)
physiologist (a biologist specializing in physiology)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("physiology" is a kind of...):
biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)
Domain member category:
abducent; abducting (especially of muscles; drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part)
adducent; adducting; adductive (especially of muscles; bringing together or drawing toward the midline of the body or toward an adjacent part)
afferent (of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying sensory information from the sense organs to the CNS)
efferent; motorial (of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying information away from the CNS)
isometric (of or involving muscular contraction in which tension increases while length remains constant)
isotonic (of or involving muscular contraction in which tension is constant while length changes)
cavernous; erectile (filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood)
erect; tumid (of sexual organs; stiff and rigid)
antidromic (conducting nerve impulses in a direction opposite to normal)
excitable; irritable (capable of responding to stimuli)
isotonic (of two or more muscles; having equal tension)
unaerated; unoxygenated ((used of blood) not supplied with oxygen)
parenteral (located outside the alimentary tract)
sympathetic (of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system)
tonic (of or relating to or producing normal tone or tonus in muscles or tissue)
pressor (increasing (or tending to increase) blood pressure)
autacoidal (of or relating to an autacoid)
voluntary (controlled by individual volition)
involuntary (controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control)
automatic; reflex; reflexive (without volition or conscious control)
autonomic (relating to or controlled by the autonomic nervous system)
vegetative (relating to involuntary bodily functions)
accommodation ((physiology) the automatic adjustment in focal length of the natural lens of the eye)
adaptation ((physiology) the responsive adjustment of a sense organ (as the eye) to varying conditions (as of light))
abduction ((physiology) moving of a body part away from the central axis of the body)
adduction ((physiology) moving of a body part toward the central axis of the body)
contraction; muscle contraction; muscular contraction ((physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber))
control ((physiology) regulation or maintenance of a function or action or reflex etc)
antagonistic muscle ((physiology) a muscle that opposes the action of another)
humor; humour ((Middle Ages) one of the four fluids in the body whose balance was believed to determine your emotional and physical state)
sensibility; sensitiveness; sensitivity ((physiology) responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation)
localisation; localisation of function; localisation principle; localization; localization of function; localization principle ((physiology) the principle that specific functions have relatively circumscribed locations in some particular part or organ of the body)
irradiation ((physiology) the spread of sensory neural impulses in the cortex)
cell death; necrobiosis ((physiology) the normal degeneration and death of living cells (as in various epithelial cells))
acid-base balance; acid-base equilibrium ((physiology) the normal equilibrium between acids and alkalis in the body)
autoregulation ((physiology) processes that maintain a generally constant physiological state in a cell or organism)
inhibition ((physiology) the process whereby nerves can retard or prevent the functioning of an organ or part)
nutrition ((physiology) the organic process of nourishing or being nourished; the processes by which an organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and maintenance)
relaxation ((physiology) the gradual lengthening of inactive muscle or muscle fibers)
stimulation ((physiology) the effect of a stimulus (on nerves or organs etc.))
summation ((physiology) the process whereby multiple stimuli can produce a response (in a muscle or nerve or other part) that one stimulus alone does not produce)
homeostasis ((physiology) metabolic equilibrium actively maintained by several complex biological mechanisms that operate via the autonomic nervous system to offset disrupting changes)
innervate (stimulate to action)
irritate (excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "physiology"):
neurophysiology (the branch of neuroscience that studies the physiology of the nervous system)
hemodynamics (the branch of physiology that studies the circulation of the blood and the forces involved)
kinesiology (the branch of physiology that studies the mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement)
myology (the branch of physiology that studies muscles)
Derivation:
physiologic (of or consistent with an organism's normal functioning)
physiologist (a biologist specializing in physiology)
Context examples:
That branch of physiology that is concerned with the electric phenomena associated with living bodies and involved in their functional activity.
(Electrophysiology, NCI Thesaurus)
The science and medical specialty concerned with the metabolism, physiology, or hormonal secretions and their physiologic and pathologic relations.
(Endocrinology, NCI Thesaurus)
A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of the physiology and diseases of the digestive system and related structures (esophagus, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas).
(Gastroenterology, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
I revolved these circumstances in my mind and determined thenceforth to apply myself more particularly to those branches of natural philosophy which relate to physiology.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
The medical specialty that pertains to the anatomy, physiology, pathology, symptomatology, and therapeutics related to the blood and blood-forming tissues.
(Hematology, Other, NCI Thesaurus)
A branch of neuroscience concerned with the physiology of the nervous system.
(Neurophysiology, NCI Thesaurus)
A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the kidney.
(Nephrology, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
The branch of neurobiology that tries to understand the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the nervous system by understanding the way that genes, proteins, and molecules interact.
(Molecular Neurobiology, NCI Thesaurus)
An elaboration of the biological or biochemical events that are involved in the maintenance of the internal physiology of an organism.
(Homeostasis Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus)
The branch of physiology concerned with the changes that take place between fertilization and maturity.
(Developmental Physiology Differentiation/Growth, NCI Thesaurus)
