The study of anatomy goes back over 2,000 years, to the Ancient Greeks. It can be divided into three broad areas: Human anatomy, zootomy, or animal anatomy, and phytotomy, which is plant anatomy.

Human anatomy is the study of the structures of the human body. An understanding of anatomy is key to the practice of health and medicine.

The word “anatomy” comes from the Greek words “ana,” meaning “up,” and “tome,” meaning “a cutting.” Studies of anatomy have traditionally depended on cutting up, or dissection, but now, with imaging technology, it is increasingly possible to see how a body is made up without dissection.

There are two ways of looking at anatomy: Gross, or macroscopic, anatomy and microscopic anatomy.