anatomy

There are 206 bones in the adult body, nearly half of them in the hands and feet. The adult human body also has approximately 100 joints.

The adult human body has approximately 650 muscles, 100,000 km/60,000 mi of blood vessels and 13,000 nerve cells.

The medieval notion of anatomy, c.1508. The findings of the Ancient Greek physician Galen, whose studies were based on the dissection of animals, were the only source of anatomical knowledge until 1543. Andreas Vesalius then published his classic work De humani corporis fabrica which was based on his own observation of human corpses.

Study of the structure of the body and its component parts, especially the human body, as distinguished from physiology, which is the study of bodily functions.

Herophilus of Chalcedon (c. 330-c. 260 BC) is regarded as the founder of anatomy. In the 2nd century AD, the Graeco-Roman physician Galen produced an account of anatomy that was the only source of anatomical knowledge until On the Working of the Human Body (1543) by Belgian physician Andreas Vesalius. Throughout the Middle Ages and well into modern times, the Catholic Church enforced a complete ban on dissecting human bodies, thus severely limiting any progress in anatomy. Only after the Reformation did Protestant rulers gradually allow dissection, for example of criminals who had been executed. In 1565, the Royal College of Physicians in London was granted permission to dissect human cadavers.

In 1628, English physician William Harvey published his demonstration of the circulation of the blood. With the invention of the microscope, Italian physiologist Marcello Malpighi and Dutch microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek were able to found the study of histology. In 1747, Albinus, with the help of the artist Wandelaar, produced the most exact account of the bones and muscles, and in 1757-65 Swiss biologist Albrecht von Haller gave the most complete and exact description of the organs that had yet appeared. Among the anatomical writers of the early 19th century are the surgeon Charles Bell, Jonas Quain, and Henry Gray. Radiographic anatomy (using X-rays; see radiography) was a great achievement of the 20th century, which was also marked by immense activity in embryological research.