The study of the structures that make up the bodies of living organisms is called anatomy. Anatomy is a branch of biology. The word anatomy comes from the Greek words ana temnein, meaning, “to cut up.”
Study
One way to study structures is by cutting or dissecting a body (human, animal, or plant). This is in order to examine what these structures are and how they are put together.
Scientists also study anatomy in order to learn how different plants and animals breathe, obtain food, and perform the other functions necessary to keep them alive.
Human anatomy
Doctors have to know how the parts of a healthy human body fit together and how they function before they can deal with bodies that are not functioning properly. That is why the study of anatomy is so important in medicine.
Anatomists find it useful to divide the human body into separate systems that each perform a specific function. The systems control blood circulation and breathing, digestion, glands, muscles, nerves, bones, skin, urination, and reproduction.
History
Throughout history many people were reluctant to dissect human bodies because they believed that there was a life after death. This prevented a systematic study of the human body. Nevertheless, some knowledge of the body was acquired in such times as treating wounds or setting broken limbs. Hence the study of the body was based on guesswork rather than on scientific experiments.
In about the 4th century BC a Greek physician performed public dissections on human bodies. He produced descriptions of the eye, liver, salivary glands, and pancreas. For the first time, anatomy was based on observations of the working of the body.
In the 2nd century AD the Greek physician Galen brought together the discoveries of other Greek anatomists. He also included his own ideas on physiology and discoveries in experimental medicine. The books Galen wrote became a major source for anatomy and medicine in Europe. It was used for many years because during the Middle Ages, the European church did not allow the dissection of human bodies. Therefore, no further progress was made in the study of anatomy.
- A woodcut shows Andreas Vesalius studying human anatomy. The woodcut was probably made by Vesalius …
In the early 16th century, the artist Leonardo Da Vinci made accurate drawings of the human structures. These drawings prompted Andreas Vesalius, a Flemish physician, to write the first detailed and illustrated textbook of anatomy in 1543. He gave exact descriptions of the skeleton, muscles, blood vessels, nervous system, and digestive tract. Vesalius' pupils later studied other systems, including the urinary and reproductive systems.
In the second half of the 17th century, the study of anatomy received a boost with the invention of the microscope. Robert Hooke first observed the existence of cells. As the technology of microscopes improved and other devices were invented over the years, scientists were able to learn more and more about anatomy. Scientists in the 21st century continue to study the subject to learn even more.