How to study Medical School Physiology

Physiology is medical school is similar to undergraduate physiology in that you learn about mechanisms and pathways that regulate the body. Medical school physiology has, however, a stronger emphasis on diseases and pathology and what you learn will often have direct implication for different types of pathology. Physiology will be much less about rote memorization and much more about how different systems coordinate to affect body homeostasis. What this means is graphs, equations, up and down arrows, relationships, and ratios. Thankfully, there are few equations you will be required to memorize; instead you should continually try to understand relationships, something we will discuss more further on. 

Steps to studying Physiology (in order)

Go to class

This is one of those classes where going to class really can help you understand the material. Since so much of it is conceptual, having someone explain the concepts and relationships seen, especially in things such as the Frank-Starling curve or pressure volume loops, can really help you formulate your thoughts and any potential questions. 

Read

Read the lecture notes and your text of choice. This is one of the few classes where a good text-based resource will make all the difference in understanding the material. 

Make an outline

Draw, graph, and table the relationships that are found in the texts. See what happens to, for example, 1,25-(OH)2 production when you have increased PTH, or see the relationship of 21-hydroxylase in relation to testosterone production when there is a deficiency in it versus a deficiency in 17-alpha hydroxylase. Much of physiology looks at what happens when you modify one step of a series of equations or relationships, much like organic chemistry. Try to visually represent those steps on paper so you can better appreciate the different relationships. 

Discuss with others

Talking through the concepts that you find and learn about can be beneficial in solidifying your knowledge and grasping details. 

Do questions

It's hard to have an idea of what is tested in physiology until you run through some questions. While some questions may test your rote memorization, the majority of questions will test your understanding of those relationships that you've drawn out in your outline and notes.