What is physiology and why should you care? Some universities have removed physiology from their curriculum, because both students and teachers felt it was too hard to learn. However, if you are among those hoping to enter a healthcare profession you will need to complete course credits in physiology. This is the first in a series of small books created to show you how to study physiology successfully. It provides the basic framework necessary for understanding physiology in general and human physiology in particular. It is written so that you can understand the information even if you have no previous exposure to scientific jargon. Most physiology courses start with a very brief introduction to chemistry. But, it is difficult for beginners to see the relevance of chemistry to the study of physiology. Chemistry in chemistry class appears different than chemistry in physiology class. In chemistry, if you want chemicals to react to each other, you either add or subtract heat. To accommodate the body's need for a constant temperature, human physiology's use of chemistry's principles requires innovative design and customization. You will find here answers to the following and much more: How do bonds in molecules form? What is that mysterious stuff called molecular energy? What is water chemistry, and why is water necessary for life to exist? How and why is neutral blood pH maintained? What is a semi permeable membrane? What is osmotic pressure and why does it matter? How does hydrostatic pressure differ from osmotic pressure? How can gaseous oxygen and carbon dioxide flow in opposite directions during breathing? What do body fluids have to do with nerve cell function? Many authors of textbooks for physiology are overwhelmed by the amount of new information that arrives almost daily. Physiology is far from being a "finished science." For example, the complete human gene sequence was revealed in the past 15 years, and knowledge of the human immune system has evolved since 1990 from being a mysterious force to being recognized a complex sophisticated defense system. Yet, the basic principles on which physiology is established did not change. Ten years from now details about how living systems survive will surely expand exponentially, but the basic chemical framework of physiology will continue to remain the same. In these pages you will discover how closely human physiology is aligned with Earth's environment. When you finish reading Physiology: Custom-designed Chemistry, you will know the answer to the question "What is physiology and why should you care?"