What is Human Anatomy?

"Human Anatomy" refers to the study of the human structure. Knowing the physical structure of the human body inside out is essential, especially for a surgeon.

In order to know 'where' to cut and 'what' not to cut, the poor surgeon has to know not only the external structure but also the internal structure and most importantly the relationship of one part to another. That's not easy, if you know what I mean. One needs to know as well, the meaning of specific terms. Such understanding is essential before we move on to other topics later.

Let us begin with the most basic structure of the body, the 'cells'. Since the microscope was first invented, cell studies were made possible. Simple life forms e.g. the amoeba, is a one-cell life form.

With the invention of more powerful tools, we can now studying human cells at the molecular level. Every human cell contains DNA, which is like the 'master software' of a computer system. Not only are we looking at the structure of the DNA (the 'blueprint' of a human) but we are mapping out the sequence of the DNA as well.

Easy?

From the micro (small) level, we now move on to the macro (big) level. A group of cells is referred to as 'tissue', and a group of different tissue is referred to as an 'organ'; and a group of organs with a specific function is referred to as a 'system'. Remember:
  1. THE MOST BASIC PART OF THE BODY = CELL
  2. GROUP OF CELLS = TISSUE
  3. GROUP OF TISSUE = ORGAN
  4. GROUP OF ORGANS = SYSTEM

For example, the 'cardiovascular system' is a combination of the heart (a collection of cardiac muscles, connective tissues and nerves) and all the blood vessels in the human body with a specific function 'to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells and also clear bodily wastes'.
The foundation of the human body is the skeletal system. Overlying the skeletal system are soft tissues and organ systems. There are various other systems in our body. It will be useful to know what the systems are, as medical knowledge is specific according to the systems approach. If you know that, you will appreciate the various medical specialists and the areas they specialize in. The system classifications are useful for understanding the complexity of the human body in an orderly manner.

Why is it important for me to know?

So that you could communicate correctly with your doctor and it will also help you to narrow down the possible causes of your problem. If you suffering from pain, the first question a doctor would normally ask is where it is? Location of the pain e.g. upper part of the body and the lower part of the body means different internal organs are affected.

For a good overview of the human anatomy in graphical format, try visiting the following websites: (hyperlinks provided)

EASY GOING FOR BEGINNERS! (Basic level: suitable for public)
http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html

If your thirst for more information is overwhelming, you may also want to surf on sites with more technicalities) (Advanced level: optional)

The electronic version of Gray's anatomy (not the Grey’s anatomy as in the famous movie TV series) textbook is here: http://www.bartleby.com/107/

More for you to digest!
The visible human project:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html

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