Abstract
Physiology certainly started as a handmaiden of medicine but during the last fifty years or more a significant change has taken place. The change has been the result of the advancement of science in general and the basic medical sciences in particular which have become so broad (or deep) that the ordinary training of a doctor of medicine is no longer sufficient to do more than cover a few of the high spots, with a mastery of none. Thus increasing specialization has become a necessity and physiology has become a science in its own right, which extends far beyond the more specialized interests of the ordinary medical practitioners, however well trained and broadminded they may be. Of course, many of our best physiologists today have only the M.D. degree but they usually obtain additional training in their specialty after completing their degrees. The physiologist with a Ph.D. has the opposite problem and is in danger of remaining too specialized and narrow in his outlook.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1963 American Physiological Society
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fenn, W.O. (1963). Some Changes in the Character of the Society. In: History of the American Physiological Society: The Third Quarter Century, 1937–1962. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7603-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7603-0_8
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7603-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive