Some Branches of anatomy The main ones are descriptive, topographic, comparative, microscopic, macroscopic, artistic, morphological or vegetal.
Anatomy is the science that studies the macroscopic structures of living beings. Its shape, topography, location, arrangement and relation of the organs that compose the bodies.
The term anatomy is used both for the structure of the bodies of living beings and to call the branch of the biology Who studies them.
Anatomy focuses on an examination of the architecture of bodies, so that sometimes the limits of their study are intermingled with the so-called morphological sciences that are developmental biology, histology and anthropology.
Already in the Ancient Age dissected corpses to find out how the bodies of living beings worked. In the Middle Ages , Followed the galenic teachings of anatomy with few dissections of corpses since in many countries it was considered as witchcraft.
The study of anatomy was started in the Modern age Through the dissection of corpses to increase the knowledge about the body.
With the invention of microscope , The anatomy experienced a great boom and began to develop the microscopic Anatomy.
By covering such a large field of study, the anatomy is subdivided into several branches.
Major branches of anatomy
Descriptive or systematic anatomy
This branch of anatomy subdivides the body into systems and studies them describing their situation, form, relationship between their parts, constitution and structure.
It establishes divisions by systems or devices where it carries out a deep study of each one of them. For example, the skeletal system with its muscles and ligaments or blood and lymphatic vessels, etc.
Topographical or regional anatomy
Like descriptive anatomy, it also divides the body into regions and studies the relationships that exist within each region.
The four regions in which the human topographic anatomy is divided are the head region, trunk region, upper limb region, and lower limb region. The trunk region is also divided into two parts, the abdomen and the thorax
Comparative Anatomy
Comparative anatomy is responsible for studying the similarities of living beings and differences in their anatomy.
Study the differences of living beings and try to find out the common characteristics that have different groups of living beings.
Microscopic Anatomy
The microscopic anatomy also known as histology, is the discipline that studies the organic tissues, their microscopic structure, their development and functions. It not only studies the tissues but also what they are composed of.
This branch of anatomy is essential for medical studies to understand the pathological processes that occur in the body.
Macroscopic anatomy
Unlike the microscopic anatomy that requires the use of instruments to be able to see the parts studied, the macroscopic anatomy is responsible for the study of the organs and organ systems of living beings.
Anatomy of development
Also called embryology, is responsible for studying the process of embryonic development of living beings.
For an embryo to start, the fertilization that originates the zygote is needed. Embryology studies all this process and that of the formation of the embryo until its maturity.
Anatomy of the surface
This branch of anatomy studies the external features of the body. This anatomy does not need the dissection of corpses, since it can be studied with the naked eye. It is a descriptive science that is based on form, proportions and points of reference.
This anatomy also includes theories of body proportions and related artistic canons.
Pathological anatomy
This anatomy is responsible for the study of the transmission, development and consequences of diseases. It is one of the pillars of medicine, as it is responsible for the interpretation of the symptoms of diseases.
Physicians need to find the alterations that diseases produce in patients through exploration.
The study of the pathological anatomy allows the explorations to patients to be less invasive to have knowledge of the pattern of the pathogen.
Artistic anatomy
This branch of anatomy is responsible for studying the measurements of the body, its constitution and formation and then apply them to the artistic field.
They can study the canon and the proportions of the body of living beings to make an application to the art as real as possible.
Morphological anatomy
This branch of the anatomy studies the external forms of the bodies but is distinguished from the topographic anatomy in which the morphological study forms as artistic and non-medical basis.
And over time has managed to become a major gap in the branches of anatomy studied being one of the most studied today.
Plant anatomy
The anatomy being such a large branch, has ended up specializing in the large groups of living beings. The plant anatomy studies the plants, their tissues and the internal cellular structure of them.
Normally when speaking of plant anatomy, it is understood that it needs an optical microscope for its study.
Animal anatomy
Another of the great branches of the anatomy that has had to separate to deepen its study due to the extensive field.
It studies the form, disposition and relations of the different parts of the bodies of the animals.
Being a branch of the anatomy so extensive, it has several subdivisions that are: anatomy of fish, anatomy of amphibians, anatomy of birds, anatomy of mammals, anatomy of invertebrates and anatomy of arthropods.
It has a sub-theme, the veterinary anatomy, which focuses on the study of the comparative anatomy of domestic animals.
Human anatomy
It is the science that studies the macroscopic structures of the human body. It studies the structures of the human body by systems, such as the skeletal system, the nervous system, the vascular system, etc.
References
- ESAU, Katherine. Plant anatomy . New York, US: Wiley, 1967.
- SALADIN, Kenneth S. Anatomy & physiology . New York (NY): WCB / McGraw-Hill, 1998.
- MARIEB, Elaine Nicpon; HOEHN, Katja. Human anatomy & physiology . Pearson Education, 2007.
- GRAY, Henry. Anatomy of the human body . Lea & Febiger, 1878.
- OF THE TRUNK, ANATOMY. CONTENTS OF TOMO II MATERIALS. 1987.
- LATARJET, M.; TESTUT, L. Compendium of descriptive anatomy . Masson, 1997.
- WADE, J. P. H. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. Neurology for physiotherapists , 1989, p. 203.