Physiome

The physiome of an individual's or species' physiological state is the description of its functional behavior. The physiome describes the physiological dynamics of the normal intact organism and is built upon information and structure (genome, proteome, and morphome). The term comes from "physio-" (nature) and "-ome" (as a whole).

In its broadest terms, it should define relationships from genome to organism and from functional behavior to gene regulation. In the context of the IUPS Physiome Project, it includes integrated models of components of organisms, such as particular organs or cell systems, biochemical, or endocrine systems.

The IUPS Physiome Project is a worldwide effort to define the physiome through the development of databases and models which will facilitate the understanding of the integrative function of cells, organs, and organisms. The project is focused on compiling and providing a central repository of databases, linking experimental information and computational models from many laboratories into a single, self-consistent framework. This coalescence of research effort will promote comprehensive databases and an integrative, analytical approach to the study of medicine and physiology.

The concept of a physiome project was presented to the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) by its Commission on Bioengineering in Physiology in 1993. A workshop on designing the Physiome Project was held in 1997. At its world congress in 2001, the IUPS designated the project as a major focus for the next decade. The project is led by the Physiome Commission of the IUPS.

Other research initiatives related to the physiome include:


 * The EuroPhysiome Initiative
 * The NSR Physiome Project of the National Simulation Resource (NSR) at the University of Washington, supporting the IUPS Physiome Project
 * The Wellcome Trust Heart Physiome Project, a collaboration between the University of Auckland and the University of Oxford, part of the wider IUPS Physiome Project