Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the adult human body. It is divided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy.
Gross anatomy (also called anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen without the aid of a microscope.
Microscopic anatomy is the study of minute anatomical structures assisted by the microscope, and includes histology (study of tissue organization) and cytology (study of cells).
In some of its characteristics, human anatomy is closely linked to embryology, comparative anatomy and phylogenetics, through common roots in evolution;
for example, much of the human body retains the segmental shape found in all vertebrates with basic units that are repeated, this is particularly obvious in the spine and ribcage, and can be traced from early stage embryos.
The human body consists of a biological system, composed of organs and systems, made up of a biological tissue, which is in turn composed of biological cells and connective tissue.
History
The history of anatomy has been characterized, over time, by the continuous development in knowledge of the functions of the organs and structures of the human body.
The methods have evolved over time, starting from the examination of animals and then through the dissection of cadavers to complex technological techniques that developed in the 20th century.
Study
Generally, medical students, dentists, biology students, kinesiologists (graduates in Exercise and Sports Sciences), physiotherapists, occupational therapists, masseurs, nurses,
paramedics, radiology technicians and artists learn anatomy and human microscopic anatomy from anatomical models, skeletons, textbooks, diagrams, photographs, letters, and tutorials.
The study of microscopic anatomy can be aided by practical experience by examining histological preparations with the help of the microscope; and in general,
medical students learn human anatomy through hands-on experience through dissection and inspection of cadavers (dead human bodies).
A good knowledge of human anatomy is required of all physicians, especially surgeons, and doctors working in some diagnostic specialties, such as histopathology and radiology.
For the study of human anatomy, physiology and biochemistry are complementary basic sciences in medical science, they are generally taught to students in the early years of university.
Human anatomy can be taught regionally or systematically; that is, respectively, studying anatomy across body regions or studying it across specific systems.
The best-known anatomy text in English, Gray’s Anatomy, has recently been reorganized from a systems format to a regional format, in line with modern teaching methods, as well as J.L.
Testut’s famous Traité d’anatomie humaine (1889-1892), which was followed, already in 1905-1906, with the collaboration of Honoré Jacob, by the Traité d’anatomie topographique (Treatise on Topographic Anatomy)
The anatomical study of the human body can be carried out in systems (systematic or descriptive anatomy) in which the conformation, relationships,
structure and development of organic complexes with similar functionality (systems) are analytically studied,
even if the individual parts of the system are located at a distance from each other (e.g. the heart, the arteries, the capillaries,
the veins, together they contribute to making up the circulatory system,
since all together they carry out the vital function of blood supply to the tissues and disposal of metabolic waste products),
or topographically (topographic anatomy) they study the different structures,
the different organs depending on the location they occupy and the relationships they contract with nearby formations.
With this method the surface of the human body is divided into territory or regions (head, neck, thorax, upper limbs, lower limbs, etc.),
and in each of these the various layers are analysed, from the most superficial to the deepest.
Anatomy includes Osteo-Arthrology, Myology, Splanchnology, Angiology,
Cardiology, Neurology, which respectively study the structure of bones and joints, muscles, viscera, veins, heart, central and peripheral nervous system.
If it is true that anatomy relies above all on its visual acuity to investigate and describe, it is also true that when delving into the very small it must necessarily make use of the microscope (microscopic anatomy).
Further subdivisions of anatomical science are found with surgical anatomy which studies the anatomical problems relating
to diseases of surgical interest and the operative interventions inherent in them,
and whose field of investigation extends from technical exercise on the cadaver to the execution of interventions on experimental animals;
comparative anatomy which studies the anatomical structure of the various components of the zoological scale, up to man,
highlighting the points of contact and the multiple structural transformations that gradually characterize the higher animals;
embryonic anatomy which informs us of the structure of the embryonic body;
radiological anatomy which deals with the nomenclature and conformation of the individual parts of the human body as they appear under fluoroscopy and radiography;
pathological anatomy which studies and compares the macro and microscopic alterations induced in the organism by various pathological agents with normal structures,
also trying to ascertain the precise cause of death of the observed alterations.
As can be seen, the field of this medical science of capital importance is very broad and always a harbinger of developments since the increasingly
perfected investigation methods allow constant in-depth analyzes of the intimate, even sub-microscopic, knowledge of the human structure.
