anatomy

American  

[uh-nat-uh-mee] / əˈnæt ə mi /

noun

PLURAL

anatomies

1. the science dealing with the structure of animals and plants.

2. the structure of an animal or plant, or of any of its parts.

3. dissection of all or part of an animal or plant in order to study its structure.

4. a plant or animal that has been or will be dissected, or a model of such a dissected organism.

5. a skeleton.

6. Informal.  the human body.

7. an analysis or minute examination.

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anatomy British  

/ əˈnætəmɪ /

noun

1. the science concerned with the physical structure of animals and plants

2. the physical structure of an animal or plant or any of its parts

3. a book or treatise on this subject

4. dissection of an animal or plant

5. any detailed analysis

   the anatomy of a crime

6. informal  the human body

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anatomy Scientific  

/ ə-năt′ə-mē /

1. The structure of an organism or any of its parts.

2. The scientific study of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts.

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anatomy Cultural  

1. The structure of an animal or plant; also, the study of this structure through techniques such as microscopic observation and dissection. (Compare morphology and physiology.)

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Etymology

Origin of anatomy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin anatomia, from Greek anatom(ḗ) “dissection” (from ana- ana- + tomḗ “a cutting,” noun derivative of témnein “to cut”) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

They traced the preserved soft anatomy, examined the sediments inside and outside the mummy, and matched the dinosaur's hooves back into a footprint.

From Science Daily

Thai massage therapists who did not understand English well had trouble grasping the class material, which involves anatomy and other technical topics, Kantachote said.

From Los Angeles Times

This project, led by the Florida Museum of Natural History and involving 18 U.S. institutions, offers public access to 3D digital models of vertebrate anatomy.

From Science Daily

Paul White usually excavates live electricity and utility cables but on this job the former Royal Marine needed to get his head around the anatomy of a whale.

From BBC

"We can now investigate not only the strange anatomy of these crocs, but also how they reproduced and adapted to changing environments."

From Science Daily