Editing Physiology (section)

===The classical era===
The study of human physiology as a medical field originates in [[classical Greece]], at the time of [[Hippocrates]] (late 5th century BC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ph-Py/Physiology.html |title=Physiology| work=Science Clarified |publisher= Advameg, Inc. |access-date=2010-08-29}}</ref> Outside of Western tradition, early forms of physiology or anatomy can be reconstructed as having been present at around the same time in [[China]],<ref>Helaine Selin, ''Medicine Across Cultures: History and Practice of Medicine in Non-Western Cultures'' (2003), p. 53.</ref> India<ref>{{cite book|title=From Physiology and Chemistry to Biochemistry|page=8|publisher=Pearson Education|first1=D. P. |last1=Burma |first2=Maharani|last2=Chakravorty}}</ref> and elsewhere. Hippocrates incorporated the theory of [[humorism]], which consisted of four basic substances: earth, water, air and fire. Each substance is known for having a corresponding humor: black bile, phlegm, blood, and yellow bile, respectively. Hippocrates also noted some emotional connections to the four humors, on which [[Galen]] would later expand. The critical thinking of [[Aristotle]] and his emphasis on the relationship between structure and function marked the beginning of physiology in [[Ancient Greece]]. Like [[Hippocrates]], Aristotle took to the humoral theory of disease, which also consisted of four primary qualities in life: hot, cold, wet and dry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/neurophysio.html|title=Early Medicine and Physiology|work=ship.edu}}</ref> Galen ({{circa|130}}–200&nbsp;AD) was the first to use experiments to probe the functions of the body. Unlike Hippocrates, Galen argued that humoral imbalances can be located in specific organs, including the entire body.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/223895/Galen-of-Pergamum|title=Galen of Pergamum|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=6 March 2024 }}</ref> His modification of this theory better equipped doctors to make more precise diagnoses. Galen also played off of Hippocrates' idea that emotions were also tied to the humors, and added the notion of temperaments: sanguine corresponds with blood; phlegmatic is tied to phlegm; yellow bile is connected to choleric; and black bile corresponds with melancholy. Galen also saw the human body consisting of three connected systems: the brain and nerves, which are responsible for thoughts and sensations; the heart and arteries, which give life; and the liver and veins, which can be attributed to nutrition and growth.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Galen was also the founder of experimental physiology.<ref>{{Cite journal | first1 = C. | last1 = Fell | first2 = F. | last2 = Pearson | title = Historical Perspectives of Thoracic Anatomy | journal = Thoracic Surgery Clinics |date=November 2007 | volume = 17 | issue = 4 | pages = 443–8| doi = 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2006.12.001| pmid = 18271159 }}</ref> And for the next 1,400 years, Galenic physiology was a powerful and influential tool in [[medicine]].<ref name="britannica.com"/>