This example again asks us to distinguish between anatomy and physiology, but here we're going to do it more in the context of scientific research. So, two biologists are studying the causes of acid reflux or heartburn. Determine whether each biologist takes a more anatomical approach or a more physiological approach to their study.
First, it says Rita uses a probe to measure the change in pH of subject stomach acid before and after eating and compares that data to the amount of heartburn the subject reports experiencing.
When I look at it, the keywords here are that Rita is measuring the change in pH of stomach acid. If you are measuring the response to something, how the acid in the stomach changes over time, that's how the stomach works. It doesn't say anything about the structure of the stomach. So, how the stomach works, how it functions, that's physiological. It sounds like Rita is taking a more physiological approach to her study.
Next, we have Andre. Andre uses MRI data to compare the shape of the stomach, pyloric sphincter, and esophagus for 100 subjects who complain of regular heartburn and 100 subjects who do not experience heartburn.
When I see this, I see MRI data. That's really pictures of things, and he's looking at the shape of the stomach, pyloric sphincter, and esophagus. Shape is structure. When we're talking about structure, that tells me they're taking more of an anatomical approach.
With that, we have more practice problems below for you to practice this distinction, and I'll see you in the next video.