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Anatomy (derived from the Greek ana tomos - cutting into parts) represents at
the origin a method to study body structures visible to the naked eye, using the
method of dissection. Today, this approach, called macroscopic or gross
anatomy, can be subdivided in various cathegories:
- regional anatomy, also called topographic anatomy, represents a detailed
description of the structures (muscles, blood vessels, nerves, bones) within a
certain region of the body, as revealed by progressive dissection of layers from
the surface to the interior. The reciprocal relationships of vicinity are emphasized,
especially those which can result in pathological consequences (e.g penetration
of a perforating ulcer into the pancreas). A special subdivision of this approach is
surface anatomy, devoted to describing the projection of inner structures at the
skin surface, using bony prominences and other superficial landscape elements
to define regions and to locate these projections.
- systemic anatomy, the study of systems of organs that accomplish a specific
function (cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive system, etc.).
Microscopic anatomy is devoted to the study of more fundamental levels of
organization, visible only under a microscope: histology, the study of tissues,
and cytology (cell biology), the study of cells and subcellular components,
molecular biology - structural biology.
Developmental anatomy describes the changes at structural level which occur
during the development of either a single individual before birth (ontogeny) -
embryology, or during the evolution of species (phylogeny) - compared
anatomy. The similarities between these two processes were synthetized by the
famous XIXth century biologist Ernest Haeckel in the very brief but highly
meaningful theory of recapitulation: ontogeny repeats phylogeny.
Pathological anatomy studies the structural changes occurring in various
diseases at both macroscopic and microscopic level. With the appearance of
modern structural investigation tools like various X-ray based imaging methods,
NMR tomography, ultrasound imaging, various endoscopic diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures, appropriate new descriptive chapters of anatomy have
emerged: radiographic anatomy, ultrasonographic anatomy, CT or MRI
anatomy, etc.