The formative role of the laboratory in teaching the science of physiology

Physiology teaching began with Claudius Galenus (c. 126-199 AD), known as Galen, who is considered the initiator of experimental physiology. This discipline was consolidated in the XIX century with the discoveries of Claude Bernard, which influenced the way of teaching this discipline in universities, independently from Anatomy. In Mexico, physiology teaching started in 1580. It was at the beginning of the XIX century when Valentín Gómez Farías created the professorship in Medical Sciences and Daniel Vergara Lope carried out its consolidation when he implemented a lab course. Doctor José Joaquín Izquierdo established that this subject ought to be taught by teachers with experience in research. Undoubtedly, formative physiology teaching carried out in labs must strengthen the application of method and scientific methodology in students. In this symposium, we put forward that the change in physiology teaching must promote multidisciplinary research in students, who will formulate a research question and develop an experimental model that will let them integrate their basic knowledge of physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and functional anatomy under the supervision of a research teacher.