Physiology and internal anatomy

Abstract

Physiology explores the functions of organisms, their organ systems, and the way they work. It concerns how they contend with their environment, but is far more than just an account of the physics, chemistry and mechanics of the functional processes of life. That the external environment has a crucial influence on the lives and workings of organisms is a very old idea in the history of human culture (Mayr, 1982). The concepts of the environment as inherently hostile, and that the degree of adaptation of a species to its environment is a measure of its success, are integral to the central tenet of Darwinian evolution.