Intro to Anatomy

• Anatomy


  The study of the structure of the body
• Anatomy


  • The science of the morphology or structure of organisms
  • The root comes from the Greek word 'anatome' meaning 'to cut open', 'cutting up' or 'take apart'
  • First used by Aristotle (384-322 BC)
  • The Latin word 'dissecare' has similar meaning
  • The term "dissection" means "to cut asunder"
• Main areas of anatomy

  • Gross anatomy (macroscopic)
  • Histology (microscopic)
  • Embryology/Developmental (study of embryo and fetus)
  • Neuroanatomy (brain, spinal cord & nerves)
• Ways to study anatomy

  • Regional/Topographic anatomy (studies regions of the human body)
  • Systemic anatomy (studies body structure by systems)
  • Clinical (applied) anatomy (including endoscopy & imaging tech)
  • Surface anatomy (study of internal organs as they relate to overlying skin)
• Why study human anatomy as a medical student

  • It is the bedrock of medicine
  • It forms the basis for a systematic and scientific approach to patient examination
  • To recognise pathological changes
  • It forms the basis for surgical management
  • It forms the basis for radiological diagnosis
• Herophilus


  • Leader at the School of Alexandria
  • Established a medical school
  • Father of anatomy
  • Wrote the first book on anatomy
  • Admitted the first woman into medicine
  • Dissected the human body
  • Conducted public dissections
  • Described many structures including the duodenum, meninges, prostate gland, sensory and motor nerves
  • Used the term "neuron" for both nerves and tendons
• Andreas Vesalius


  • Anatomist and physician from Brussels, Belgium
  • Wrote "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" (On the fabric of the human body)
  • Father of modern anatomy for accurately recording and illustrating human anatomy based on autopsies and dissections, leading to enhanced surgical techniques
• Other leaders in the field of anatomy

  • Avicenna
  • Hali Abbas
  • Rhazes
• Role of language in anatomy

  • Anatomical language is one of the fundamental languages of medicine
  • A highly specialised vocabulary is required to unambiguously describe thousands of structures in the body
• Anatomical terminology


  • Head: caput/capitis
  • Neck: cervix
  • Trunk
  • Chest: Pectoral
  • Abdomen, Pelvis, Perineum
  • Upper Limbs: shoulder tip (Acromion), arm (Brachium), elbow (Cubital), forearm (Antebrachium), wrist (Carpus), hand (Manus), Pollex-thumb, Annulus-Ring finger, Digiti minimi-little finger
  • Lower Limbs: thigh (femoral), knee (genu), leg (crus), foot (pes), sole of foot (plantar surface), Hallux-Big toe
• Anatomical terms


  • Rectus (straight)
  • Longus (long)
  • Brevis (short)
  • Gaster (Latin for stomach or belly)
  • Digastric (muscle with two bellies)
  • Triceps (muscle with three heads)
  • Temporalis (muscle named after its location in the temporal region)
  • Levator (muscle that elevates a structure)
  • Abductor (muscle that abducts a structure)
  • Extensor (muscle that extends a structure)
• Anatomic position

  The position in which the body is assumed to be standing erect and facing forward, upper limbs by the side with palms facing forwards and lower limbs together with the toes facing forwards
• Basic imaginary anatomic planes

  • Median plane
  • Sagittal plane
  • Horizontal/Transverse/Transaxial plane
  • Coronal/Frontal plane
• Median plane


  Passes longitudinally through the midline of the body, dividing the body into right and left halves
• Sagittal plane


  Any vertical plane parallel with the median plane
• Coronal/Frontal plane


  Plane through the body along the coronal suture, dividing the body and body parts into anterior (front) and posterior (back)
• Horizontal/Transverse/Transaxial plane


  Divides the body into an upper part (superior) and a lower part (inferior)
• Superior, cranial, cephalic

  Structures nearer the head
• Inferior, caudal


  Structures closer to the feet
• Distal and proximal


  Used to describe structures in the limb with reference to the attachment of the limb to the trunk, or to describe branching structures like bronchi, vessels and nerves
• Other anatomic reference terms

  • Cutaneous (the skin)
  • Superficial (closer to the surface or skin)
  • Deep (profundus, deeper than superficial structures)
• Reference terms for movements at joints


  • Vertical joint axis
  • Medial rotation
  • Lateral rotation
  • Transverse axis
  • Flexion
  • Extension
  • Antero-posterior axis
  • Abduction
  • Adduction
  • Multiaxial
  • Circumduction (movement involving all axes)
• Pronation


  Medial rotation of the forearm such that the palm faces posterior
• Supination


  Lateral rotation of the forearm such that the palm faces anterior
• Ipsilateral


  Refers to the same side (of body, organ or structure)
• Bilateral


  Refers to both sides, as in paired structures having left and right members
• Unilateral


  Refers to a single side, as in the spleen
• Contralateral


  Refers to the opposite side