anatomy

American  

[uh-nat-uh-mee] / əˈnæt ə mi /

noun

• anatomies
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• anatomies
  plural

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

See Examples For:

anatomy anatomies

In Gamper's view, women should not be financially disadvantaged because of their anatomy or because they need cubicles for safety reasons, for example.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Postdoctoral researcher Simone Macrì and Research Director Nicolas Di-Poï, both at the University of Helsinki's HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, directed the reconstruction and comparative study of the brain anatomy.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

"In addition to its unique anatomy and preservational history, the specimen demonstrates the potential of existing museum collections to continue revealing novel insights into the history of life."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Netball flourished alongside hockey, tennis, cricket, cycling, swimming and dancing, while students were taught anatomy, physiology and hygiene, theory of movement, massage and medicine gymnastics.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

It took a long time for the study of human anatomy to become fully respectable—there remained a lingering disquiet about the whole business of cutting people up.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

The data draws from detailed anatomical structures of the heart, to help create accurate digital representations of how medical devices will interact with different patient anatomies.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024

Instead, they suggest the data indicates that extinct giants might have evolved unique muscular anatomies, which warrant more study.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

Various experiments were conducted on these crabs to learn about their anatomies in a world where the oceans have become more acidic.

From Salon ● May 15, 2023

Women are at highest risk of contracting UTIs because of their anatomies, Price said.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2023

According to this theory, Sapiens and other humans had different anatomies, and most likely different mating habits and even body odours.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari