By Society Member Aliya Maqsood
Aliya Maqsood is a molecular physiologist and medical educator with a passion for making physiology meaningful, human, and accessible to learners. Her work bridges laboratory science, teaching innovation, and science communication, with a particular interest in active learning and student engagement in physiology education. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an active member of the Physiological Society.
Physiology – the SCIENCE of Life OR the LIFE of Science
For students standing at the doorway of physiology, unsure of what lies ahead, this subject is not just something to pass; it is something to live. Many imagine thick textbooks, endless diagrams, and long nights memorizing processes with impossible names. But physiology is so much more than a subject you study; it is the quiet, constant miracle that lets you simply exist.
Physiology is not just science.
It is perspective. It is rhythm. It is chaos. It is peace.
It is the story of life happening in real time, inside you, every second.
You walk, you talk, you hum… and physiology carries you!
Think about the last time you took a step without thinking. Your muscles contracted and relaxed in perfect coordination. Nerves fired. Balance was maintained. Blood flow adjusted. Oxygen was delivered to where it was needed most. Sounds like a paragraph in a textbook? Maybe. But in reality, it’s a choreography happening so beautifully and quietly that you never even notice. Physiology is that walk. Then think about your voice. The way air slips through your vocal cords to create a whisper, a laugh, a song. Every word you speak is a physiological masterpiece; the merging of breath, vibration, resonance, and neural control. Physiology is that voice!
Even the tiny, unconscious things: a sigh, a heartbeat, the way your fingers respond when something feels too hot, everything is alive with meaning.
Everything is physiology.
It’s not just learning “how things work”, it’s learning how you work. Many students feel disconnected from science because it can feel distant, abstract, or impersonal. Physiology is the opposite. It brings you back to yourself. You’re not learning about a body. You’re learning about your body. Your strengths. Your limits. Your resilience.
Physiology teaches you that your cells are problem–solvers. Your organs are storytellers. Your systems are collaborators. Your life is an orchestra that never stops playing.
And whether you become a doctor, a researcher, a teacher, a nurse, a physiologist, or something entirely different, understanding your own biology gives you a grounding, a confidence, and a curiosity that lasts a lifetime.
Physiology is the science that breathes. What makes physiology truly special is that it never sits still. It evolves with every breath you take, with every heartbeat, with every new discovery science makes. It is:
The adrenaline rush when you’re excited,
The calm slow breathing during a sunset,
The racing thoughts before an exam,
The healing power of sleep,
The warmth you feel when someone hugs you.
It is the science of the everyday and the extraordinary. Physiology is beautiful because life is beautiful. Students often ask: “Is physiology hard?” I say, yes, but so is anything worth learning deeply.
It’s complex, fascinating, messy, surprising, and incredibly rewarding. Just like life. And that’s the point. Physiology doesn’t try to remove the complexity of being human. It helps you understand it. It teaches you;
That chaos can be coordinated.
That peace has a biological signature.
That your body is not just functional, it is elegant.
Why study physiology? Because you’re already living it.
You don’t have to wait to be a scientist to appreciate physiology. You are already a participant in it. Every student, regardless of background, passion, or future career, carries physiology within them. And when you study it, really study it, you start to see life differently:
A heartbeat becomes a dialogue.
Breathing becomes gratitude.
Movement becomes art.
Learning becomes wonder.
So, when we say: Physiology is the science of life, yes. But it’s also the life of science. Because without physiology, science would have no heartbeat!