Anatomy

Human Anatomy is the basic medical science of the morphology (form and structure) of the human body. Anatomy is conceptually hierarchic; the body is composed of its parts. Organs are composed of tissues, and tissues are composed of cells and extracellular matrix.

Fronticepiece detail from De humani corporis fabrica (1543), showing the author (Vesalius) and a partially dissected corpse. ‘’Source: Wikimedia Commons

Other Names

• Morphology

Types

Anatomy, the science of the morphology (form and structure) of the body, is commonly divided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy by the means that are used to visualize organs and other body parts.

Gross anatomy

Gross (or macroscopic) anatomy is typically studied by the unaided eye and dissection. (It is interesting to note that the words anatomy and dissection are derived, respectively, from Greek and Latin words meaning "to cut up".) Gross anatomy is viewed or presented from three perspectives. Systemic anatomy is concerned with the morphology of organ systems, which are defined by functional relationships between anatomic structures. Regional anatomy is concerned with body parts, which are defined only by physical relationships of and divisions of three-dimensional structures. Surface anatomy is concerned with body surface landmarks and the relationships of deeper structures to the body surface. In practice, distinctions between regional anatomy and surface anatomy (and between their terminologies) are not always maintained.

Microscopic anatomy

Microscopic anatomy (or microanatomy) utilizes various types of microscopes (including light and electron microscopes) to study the morphology of very small structures. Disciplines of microscopic anatomy include histology (the study of tissues), cytology (the study of cells) and embryology (the study of embryos and fetuses).

Description

Systemic anatomy

The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) has adopted the Terminologia Anatomica,^[1] as the standard human anatomical nomenclature. This system of names and other terms recognizes the following human organ systems and other sets of organs:

• Skeletal System ("Bones")
• Articular System ("Joints")
• Muscular System ("Muscles")
• Alimentary System
• Respiratory System
• Body Cavities (Thoracic and Abdominopelvic cavities)
• Urinary System
• Genital Systems
  • Male Genital System
  • Female Genital System
• Endocrine Glands ("Ductless glands")
• Cardiovascular System
• Lymphoid System
• Nervous System
• Sense Organs
• The Integument

Regional anatomy

The cardinal body parts are listed below:

• Head
• Neck
• Trunk
  • Thorax
  • Abdomen
  • Pelvis
  • Back
• Upper limbs
• Lower limbs

Surface anatomy

The body surface is traditionally divided into large areas that are subdivided in turn. Below is a listing of the primary surface areas, which generally correspond to the cardinal body parts:

• Regions of head
• Regions of neck
• Anterior and lateral thoracic regions
• Abdominal regions
• Regions of back
• Perineal region
• Regions of upper limb
• Regions of lower limb

Related Professions

• An anatomist is a scientist who studies the form and structure of the body and its parts.
  
• An internist is a medical doctor trained to treat diseases of the body, chiefly with drugs.
  
• A surgeon is a medical doctor trained to treat diseases of the body manually.

History

The Hippocratic Corpus contains some of the few surviving ancient descriptions of human anatomy.^[2] The extensive anatomical writings of Galen of Pergamon (129-199 AD) dominated Arabic and European medicine until the Renaissance. Most ancient knowledge of internal anatomy was based on study of animals; with the notable exception of Hellenistic Alexandria (Egypt), there is little evidence of human dissection. Human dissection in European medical schools began in the late 13th century as occasional demonstrations of Galen’s anatomy, but there were few publications of original observations in the Middle Ages.
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), dissatisfied with Galen’s works, which were largely based on dissections of Barbary apes, published descriptions of his human dissections in De humani corporis fabrica (1543) and Epitome (1542). De humani corporis fabrica was one of the great scientific works of the Renaissance and the beginning of modern human anatomy.

Probably the most significant trend in 19th century anatomy was the increasing use of the light microscope^[3] and the beginning of histological staining procedures.^[4] The publication of Henry Gray’s Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical (1858) was a landmark English textbook that continues to appear every few years in revised editions.^[5] Standardization of human anatomical nomenclature was introduced in the Basle Nomina Anatomica (BNA, 1895).^[6]

Advances in the 20th century were largely driven by development of special stains, such as histochemical and immunohistochemical stains, and of electron microscopy.

How Anatomy Was Named

The English word anatomy is derived from the Greek άνατέμνω (anatemno, "to cut up"), through the French anatomie.

Other Resources

Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th ed. (1918) with its 1247 engravings is available online at Bartleby.com.
Historical Anatomies on the Web is an online exhibit of the National Library of Medicine of illustrations from anatomical atlases of historical importance.

References

1. ↑ Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology. Terminologia Anatomica. Stuttgart, Thieme, 1998.
2. ↑ Singer C. A Short History of Anatomy and Physiology from the Greeks to Harvey. New York, Dover, 1957.
3. ↑ Hughes A. A History of Cytology. London, Abelard-Schuman, 1959.
4. ↑ Clark G and Kasten FH. (1983) History of Staining. Philadelphia, Williams & Wilkins, 1983.
5. ↑ Richardson R. The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008.
6. ↑ His W. Die anatomische Nomenklatur. Leipzig, Veit u. Co., 1895.

External Links

American Association of Anatomists