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

Explanation

If you're studying anatomy you're studying animals’ bodies and you're probably dissecting them, too. You might study the anatomy of a pig to see how it relates to human anatomy. You’ll find that only one of them has a snout. Ever heard of Gray's Anatomy — not the TV show, but the 1858 medical textbook by Henry Gray? It’s been revised many times, but it’s still the standard text, with detailed descriptions of the parts of the human body. The word anatomy can apply to anything you're analyzing in detail. If you're writing an anatomy of your piano, you'll describe the parts and how they work. Anatomy goes back to the Greek roots ana, meaning "up," and temnein "to cut."

Example Sentences

A heart team including an interventional cardiologist, cardiac surgeon and other specialists determines which treatment is best for a patient, depending on their health, anatomy and other factors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

This ranges from shapes captured on trails or infrared cameras to a howl or witness testimony, allowing Bigfooters to hypothesise what that means about the beast's "anatomy, behaviour, sociality and levels of intelligence".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Jung and Clarke, along with their collaborators, then spent more than a year studying the anatomy in detail.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

"Setting the anatomy and proportions requires visualisation from multiple angles and repeated adjustments," he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

In scientific terms, though, Tyson is regarded as the founding father of comparative anatomy, which looks at the physical relationships between different species.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin