The Logic of Animal Physiology
Goals of Animal Physiologists: To figure out how living organisms work, including the physical and chemical processes that take place in living organisms during the performance of life functions. Physiology investigates biological mechanisms with the tools of physics and chemistry. It is closely related to anatomy, though physiologists focus on bodily functions; anatomists on bodily structures. General physiologists focus on the basic functions common to all life. Physiologists may focus on particular life forms, pathology, or comparative studies. (Plant physiology, a branch of botany, focuses on the life functions within plants.)