1. The study, classification, and description of structures and organs of the body by observation or examination of a living being: Anatomy includes the examination or dissection of dead specimens, microscopic examination, and/or the use of textbooks or the internet.

Anatomy is the science of the structural organization of any organism, whether plant or animal.

The macroscopic structural organization of a part or body is usually determined by means of dissection.

The term anatomy is almost a direct borrowing of the Greek anatome, because the Greeks were among the first known to systematically dissect the human body.

The Greek word is a compound of ana-, "up" + tome, "a cutting" and therefore the earlier anatomy was a "cutting up" and "dissection" remains even to this day the essential method of learning about the structure of the body.

The study of the human body was not very reliable during the so-called Dark Ages until Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), a Flemish anatomist, revived the study of anatomy with his publication of De Humani Corporis Fabrica, "The Structure of the Human Body", in 1543.

1. The study of form: Gross anatomy involves structures that can be seen with the naked eye and is the opposite of microscopic anatomy, or histology, which involves structures seen under the microscope.

Traditionally, both gross and microscopic anatomy are studied in the first year of medical school in the U.S.

The most celebrated textbook of anatomy in the English-speaking world is >Gray's Anatomy, which is still a useful reference book.
2. Etymology: from the Greek ana- meaning "up" or "through" + tome meaning "a cutting".

Anatomy was once a "cutting up" because the structure of the body was originally learned through dissecting it, that is "cutting it up".

The practical application of anatomic knowledge to the human body; clinical anatomy: Applied anatomy is very important for the diagnosis and treatment including surgical techniques in clinical situations.

The study of structures and their relationships by means of models or other manufactured articles: Jeff had to learn all about artificial anatomy in one of his classes before progressing to more advanced stages of his medical education.

The study of human anatomy by artists: At college there was a course on artistic anatomy which would be excellent for sculptors, painters and amateurs in order to improve their perceptions and skill in representing the human body.

Artificial anatomy using models or drawings in layers: Clastic anatomy is the study or construction on superimposed plastic sheets in removable layers depicting successively deeper structures as seen in an encyclopedia, medical dictionary, etc.