Integrative Physiology in the Proteomics and Post-Genomics Age

There is a perception in the scientific community that the discipline of Physiology is in crisis, or at least, in a phase of profound transition and change. At the root of the problem is confusion between objectives (the biological questions to be solved) and the methods and technologies to be applied. Traditionally, ever since Claude Bernard's concept of the "milieu interieur," Physiology was an integrative science with the prime concern of studying regulatory mechanisms leading to adaptation and homeostasis in the presence of challenges from a dynamic internal and external environment. This study of control mechanisms can be applied on any level of fu- tion whether subcellular, cellular, and organ, but reaches its highest level of complexity with the functioning of the body as a whole and its interaction with the external environment. This involves the determination of the interaction of genetic with environmental factors and the resulting integrated body adaptation. It might seem obvious that in the pursuit of these questions any appropriate combination of techniques on any organizational level could be used. Yet the advent of molecular techniques has resulted in a preoccupation with the problems and challenges inherent in these techniques, sometimes at the expense of the original perspectives and concepts. The many new mechanisms that have been discovered at the molecular level, as well as their economical exploitation, have contributed to a climate of reductionism.

List of contents

From Functional Linkage to Integrative Physiology.- Functional Genomics.- Electrolytes and Acid-Base Physiology.- Circulation and Fluid Volume Control.- Neuroendocrine Networks.- Physiology and Behavior.- Neural Circuits and Behavior.- Physiological Determinants of Consciousness.- Physical Activity.- Biochemical Adaptation to Extreme Environments.- Repair and Defense Systems at the Epithelial Surface in the Lung.- The Zebrafish As an Integrative Physiology Model.- Curriculum Design for Integrative Physiology.

Summary

There is a perception in the scientific community that the discipline of Physiology is in crisis, or at least, in a phase of profound transition and change. At the root of the problem is confusion between objectives (the biological questions to be solved) and the methods and technologies to be applied. Traditionally, ever since Claude Bernard’s concept of the “milieu interieur,” Physiology was an integrative science with the prime concern of studying regulatory mechanisms leading to adaptation and homeostasis in the presence of challenges from a dynamic internal and external environment. This study of control mechanisms can be applied on any level of fu- tion whether subcellular, cellular, and organ, but reaches its highest level of complexity with the functioning of the body as a whole and its interaction with the external environment. This involves the determination of the interaction of genetic with environmental factors and the resulting integrated body adaptation. It might seem obvious that in the pursuit of these questions any appropriate combination of techniques on any organizational level could be used. Yet the advent of molecular techniques has resulted in a preoccupation with the problems and challenges inherent in these techniques, sometimes at the expense of the original perspectives and concepts. The many new mechanisms that have been discovered at the molecular level, as well as their economical exploitation, have contributed to a climate of reductionism.

Additional text

From the reviews:

"This book, authored by 19 expert contributors, introduces its reader to that fresh enlightening viewpoint. It should help design curricula and identify learning objectives of both medical students and professional physiologists. … As a conclusion, ‘this book represents the leading edge of an exciting development in biological science: the re-emergence of integrative physiology as an organizing principle.’ I agree." (William H. Wehrmacher, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 17 (5), 2006)

Report

From the reviews:

"This book, authored by 19 expert contributors, introduces its reader to that fresh enlightening viewpoint. It should help design curricula and identify learning objectives of both medical students and professional physiologists. ... As a conclusion, 'this book represents the leading edge of an exciting development in biological science: the re-emergence of integrative physiology as an organizing principle.' I agree." (William H. Wehrmacher, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 17 (5), 2006)

Product details

• Authors: Wolfgang Walz
• Assisted by: Wolfgang Walz (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.04.2009
• EAN: 9781588293152
• ISBN: 978-1-58829-315-2
• No. of pages: 269
• Weight: 1 g
• Illustrations: X, 269 p.
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology; C, Environment, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, CIRCULATION, Biology, molecular biology, Biomedical and Life Sciences, Genomics, genes