Essentials of Medical Physiology 8th Edition (JP Physio) (Matt and Local Print) Physiology is the most fascinating and ancient branch of science. It is fascinating because, it unfolds the mystery of complicated functional aspects of individual organs in the body. It is ancient because, it exists ever since the origin of life. Even before knowing the language, culture and society, man knew about the hunger, thirst, pain and fear which are the basics of physiology. Physiology is defined as the study of functions of various systems and different organs of the body. Physiology is of different types namely, Human Physiology, Animal Physiology and Plant Physiology. Knowledge of Human Physiology is essential to understand the other allied subjects like Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Medicine, etc. In the unicellular organisms, all the physiological functions are carried out by simple diffusion through the cell membrane. Because of the evolutionary and ecological changes over the years, individual system is developed for each function such as digestive system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, excretory system, etc. Every system in the body is independent structurally and functionally yet, all the systems are interdependent. Human Physiology is usually studied under the following headings: (i) General Physiology (ii) Blood and Body Fluids (iii) Muscle Physiology (iv) Digestive System (v) Renal Physiology and Skin (vi) Endocrinology (vii) Reproductive System (viii) Cardiovascular System (ix) Respiratory System and Environmental Physiology (x) Nervous System (xi) Special Senses. Need for having a simple book with basic principles of Medical Physiology has been felt since long. A sincere attempt has been made with the idea of fulfilling the requirements of present day curriculum for medical dental and other allied health courses. This book has given importance to the basic principles of physiology followed by the correlation of basic concepts of physiology with applied aspects of clinical physiology. This book has been largely directed to the broad and specific needs of the readers, and simplicity and clarity has been emphasized. Particularly, students can easily assimilate the logical sequence in which the subjects have been presented not only for them to understand the same but also perform well in the various types of objective and routine examinations. Several readily understandable diagrams and tables have been included to make subject comprehension. Applied physiology, clinical importance and altered situations in pediatrics, geriatrics and pregnancy have been well brought out.