The initial rationale for the journal was stated in this extract from the 1918 announcement of publication: Under the pressure of demands of medicine and other professions, physiology has developed in the direction of an applied science, with limited opportunity for the investigation of purely theoretical problems.

On the other hand, the physico-chemical methods of analyzing life phenomena have thus far made little inroad into the domain of zoology and botany.

He was joined by William Crozier of Harvard and John Howard Northrop of Rockefeller, who served as fellow editors.

In 1966, the Rockefeller University recruited Paul Cranefield to establish a laboratory of cardiac physiology, and he became editor in chief.

The purpose of the Perspectives is to provide a forum in which scientific uncertainties or controversies can be discussed in an authoritative yet open manner.

To frame the issue, two or more experts are invited to present brief points of view on the problem, which are published back-to-back in the journal.

The Perspectives are accompanied by a short introductory editorial that introduces the problem and also invites the submission of comments in the form of Letters to the Editor.