Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body.
Structure determines function and vice versa.
Understanding the links between structure and function is intellectually more satisfying than learning lists, and makes long term retention easier. The structure of the mouth determines the route of puss from a dental abscess. During your course we shall continually stress both the relationship between structure and function and the relationship between structure and disease. Subdivisions Under the general heading of anatomy are several subdivisions. Embryology examines development of adult structure from fertilised ovum Cytology deals with the structure of individual cells Histology deals with aggregations of cells, tissues, or aggregations of tissues, organs Neuroanatomy deals with the elaborate connections of nerve cells Gross anatomy deals with those structures that can be seen without a microscope.