对正常生理的理解构成了人类和兽医学（以及许多牙科医学）实践的基础。生理学是生物科学中与众不同的地方，因为它对整个生物体具有整体的整体看法，将各种学科的知识汇集在一起​​，以形成对生物体的全面理解。其他生命科学也采用了简化论方法，专注于复杂系统的单个组成部分，而不是整个系统。生理学将这些碎片整合在一起，以了解生物体如何工作。
Physiology is the study of how humans and other animals function at all levels: the whole body, the cells it is composed of, and the molecular processes happening inside these cells. An understanding of normal physiology forms the basis for the practice of human and veterinary medicine (and much of dentistry). Physiology is distinctive among the biological sciences in that it takes an integrated, holistic view of the whole organism, bringing together knowledge from a range of disciplines to create an overall understanding of the living organism. Other life sciences have adopted a reductionist approach, concentrating on a single component of a complex system rather than the system as a whole. Physiology brings these fragments together to understand how a living organism works. If you enjoy working with the details as well as the overall picture, then maybe Physiology is the degree for you.