Covid-19 special issue editorial.

Covid‐19 has dominated our lives for over 2 years now. What has been much less visible is the critical and diverse roles physiologists have played in addressing this threat. It is, therefore, a pleasure to introduce this Experimental Physiology Special Issue on Covid‐19. This issue was conceived in December 2020 at the excellent 3‐day Physiological Society meeting ‘Covid‐19: Lessons from the frontline’ (https://www.physoc.org/magazine‐articles/covid‐19‐conference‐lessons‐learned‐from‐the‐frontline/) focusing on the challenges of understanding the pathophysiological changes occurring throughout the body following Covid‐19 infection. The delay between that meeting and the present Special Issue has been due to the ongoing, high‐priority work being undertaken by physiologists to try and suppress Covid‐19, improve outcomes and minimise the risk of Long Covid, another area in which The Physiological Society and physiologists have taken a lead (https://www.physoc.org/magazine‐articles/meeting‐report‐long‐covid‐mechanisms‐risk‐factors‐and‐recovery/).

This special issue contains fascinating insights into some of the Covid‐related research of physiologists. This includes attempts to address the respiratory pathology caused by Covid‐19, useful treatment paradigms and therapeutic interventions (Berg et al., 2022; Cronin et al., 2022; Formenti & Camporota, 2022; Kizhakke Puliyakote et al., 2022; Reznikov, 2022; Weerakkody & Montgomery, 2022); the impact of Covid‐19 on children (Clark & Pathan, 2022); the treatment of Covid‐related coagulopathy (Chowdary, 2022); impacts on the musculoskeletal system (Lepsen et al., 2022); cardiovascular system (Stute et al, 2022; Szeghy et al., 2022); serum albumin levels (Johnson & Winlow, 2022) and recovery from exercise (Baranauskas & Carter, 2022). Finally, there is a paper examining the limitations of infrared thermographic screening for Covid‐19 and other infections (Mekjavic & Tipton, 2022).

In addition to being a valuable source of information, this special issue also demonstrates the rich mixture of expertise and detailed understanding that physiologists can bring to a problem like Covid‐19 and many other disparate challenges. From pathophysiology to therapeutics to technological solutions and investigations, physiologist make important, paradigm‐shifting contributions. They also establish productive and beneficial relationships with other disciplines, such as Critical Care, to address major problems. There is no doubt that physiologists have made a profound difference to our understanding of Covid‐19. Physiologists have much to offer; often their contribution goes unseen, but this is usually the case with solid foundations.

I hope you enjoy this Special Issue of Experimental Physiology.

COMPETING INTERESTS

No competing interests were declared.