ANATOMY (Gr. avaroyil, from ava-silo c', to cut up)

This article appears in Volume V01, Page 921 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ALM-ANC

ANATOMY (Gr. avaroyil, from ava-silo c', to cut up) , literally dissection or cutting asunder, a term always used to denote the study of the structure of living things; thus there is animal anatomy (zootomy) and vegetable anatomy (phytotomy). Animal anatomy may include the study of the structure of different animals, when it is called comparative anatomy or animal morphology, or it may be limited to one animal only, in which case it is spoken of as

special

SPECIAL

anatomy. From a utilitarian point of view the study of Man is the most important division of

special

SPECIAL

anatomy, and this human anatomy may be approached from different points of view. From that of the medical man it consists of a knowledge of the exact form, position, size and relationship of the various structures of the human

body

BODY

in health, and to this study the term descriptive or topographical human anatomy is given, though it is often, less happily, spoken of as Anthropotomy. An accurate knowledge of all the details of the human

body

BODY

takes years of patient observation to gain and is possessed by only a few. So intricate is man's body that only a small number of professional human anatomists are complete masters of all its details, and most of them specialize on certain parts, such as the brain, viscera, &c.; contenting themselves with a good working knowledge of the rest. Topographical anatomy must be learned by each person for himself by the repeated dissection and inspection of the dead human body. It is no more a science than a pilot's knowledge is, and, like that knowledge, must be exact and available in moments of emergency.
From the morphological point of view, however, human anatomy is a scientific and fascinating study, having for its object the discovery of the causes which have brought about the existing structure of Man, and needing a knowledge of the allied sciences of embryology or ontogeny, phylogeny and histology.
Pathological or morbid anatomy is the study of diseased organs, while sections of normal anatomy, applied to various purposes, receive special names such as medical, surgical, gynaecological, artistic and superficial anatomy. The comparison of the anatomy of different races of mankind is part of the science of physical anthropology or anthropological anatomy. In the present edition of this

work

WORK

the subject of anatomy is treated systematically rather than topographically. Each anatomical article contains first a description of the structures of an organ or system (such as nerves, arteries, heart, &c.), as it
is found in Man; and this is followed by an account of the development or embryology and comparative anatomy or morphology, as far as vertebrate animals are concerned; but only those parts of the lower animals which are of

interest

INTEREST

in explaining Man's structure are here dealt with. The articles have a twofold purpose; first, to give enough details of man's structure to make the articles on physiology, surgery, medicine and

pathology

PATHOLOGY (from Gr. raBos, suffering)

intelligible; and, secondly, to give the non-expert inquirer, or the worker in some other branch of science, the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

theories on which the modern scientific groundwork of anatomy is built.
The following separate anatomical articles will be found under their own headings:
Alimentary canal. Arteries.
Brain.
Coelom and serous membranes. Connective tissues. Diaphragm.
Ductless glands. Ear.
Epithelial, endothelial and glandular tissues.
Eye.
Heart.
Joints.

Liver

LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

.
Lymphatic system. Mammary gland.
Mouth and salivary glands. Muscular system.

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