Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/843

Rh 799 ANATOMY A IT ATOMY ( Avaro/i^) means in its literal sense the dis- jLA. section or separation of parts by cutting, but in its usual acceptation it is employed to denote the science the province of which is to determine the construction, the form, and the structure of organised bodies, i.e., of bodies which either are or have been living. It is therefore a depart ment of the science of BIOLOGY. It resolves itself into two great divisions ANIMAL ANATOMY or ZOOTOMY, the object of which is to investigate the structure of animals ; and VEGETABLE ANATOMY or PIIYTOTOMY, the object of which is to elucidate the structure of plants. As Vege table Anatomy will be treated of in the article BOTANY, it does not require to be considered here. ANIMAL ANA TOMY, again, naturally resolves itself into two divisions : one in which the construction, form, and structure of two or more animals are compared with each other, so as to bring out their features of resemblance or dissimilarity, this is called COMPARATIVE ANATOMY; the other, in which the construction, form, and structure of parts in a single ani mal are considered, which is termed SPECIAL ANATOMY. The special anatomy of an animal may be studied from various points of view : (a) with reference to the succession of forms which it exhibits at various periods from its first appearance as an embryo to the assumption of its adult characters; this is termed DEVELOPMENTAL or EMBRYO- LOGICAL ANATOMY ; (6) with reference either to its form and structure, or to the investigation of the laws by which these are determined, termed MORPHOLOGICAL ANATOMY ; (c) with reference to the function, use, or purpose per formed by a part or structure in an animal, termed TELEOLOGICAL or PHYSIOLOGICAL ANATOMY ; (d) with re ference merely to the relative position of different parts or structures, termed TOPOGRAPHICAL ANATOMY; (e) with reference to the structure and general properties of the tissues or textures which enter into the construction of the parts or organs of animals ; to this branch of study have been applied the terms GENERAL ANATOMY, ANATOMY OP TEXTURES, HISTOLOGY, and, from the microscope being so largely employed in the examination of the textures, MICROSCOPIC or MINUTE ANATOMY ; (/) with reference to the changes induced by disease in the organs or tissues, termed MORBID or PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY. From its manifold aspects anatomy forms the basis of the Biological Sciences. As a knowledge of the laws of motion is essen tial, and must be constantly recurred to at every step before any true progress can be made in the investigation of the physical sciences, so must the structure of animal bodies be constantly appealed to by the zoologist in all attempts at classification ; by the physiologist in all in quiries into the functions performed by the organs and textures in a state of health, and into the special adapta tion of parts to particular uses; and by the physician in considering the alterations or disturbance of the functions of parts in the course of disease. To describe the anatomy of the multitudinous forms of animal life from these dif ferent points of view would require, not one, but several voluminous treatises, and would much exceed the compass of a single article. Moreover, it is advisable that the anatomy of the different classes of the animal kingdom should be considered under their respective heads, e.g., that of the Crabs under CRUSTACEA, that of Reptiles under REPTILIA, &c. It is intended to devote this article more particularly to the description of the Special Anatomy of the Human Body in a state of health ; in other words, to make it a short treatise on HUMAN ANATOMY or ANTIIRO- POTOMY, which, as forming a department of the general science of Comparative Anatomy, is interesting not only to men of science generally, but, from its intimate con nection with the several divisions of the art of healing, and with the study of the fuLctions of the human body, possesses the highest importance to the physician, surgeon, and physiologist. Previous to entering on the consideration of the Anatomy of the Human Body, it may be well to take a historical view of the progress of the science from its origin to the present time. HISTORY OF ANATOMY. In tracing the history of the origin of anatomy, it may be justly said that more learning than judgment has been displayed. Some writers claim for it the highest antiquity, and pretend to find its first rudiments alternately in the animal sacrifices of the shepherd kings, the Jews, and other ancient nations, and in the art of embalming as practised by the Egyptian &quot;priests. Even the descriptions of wounds in the Iliad have been supposed adequate to prove that in the time of Homer mankind had distinct notions of the structure of the human body. Of the first it may be said that the rude information obtained by the slaughter of animals for sacrifice does not imply profound anatomical knowledge ; and those who adduce the second as evidence are deceived by the language of the poet of the Trojan war, which, distinguishing certain parts by their ordinary Greek epithets, as afterwards used by Hippocrates, Galen, and all anatomists, has been rather too easily supposed to prove that the poet had studied systematically the structure of the human frame. With not much greater justice has the cultivation of anatomical knowledge been ascribed to Hippocrates, who, Hippo- because he is universally allowed to be the father of crates, medicine, has also been thought to be the creator of the science of anatomy. Of the seven individuals of the family 460-377 of the Heracleidse who bore this celebrated name, the second, B.C. who was son of Heraclides and Phenarita, and grandson of the first Hippocrates, was indeed distinguished as a physician of great observation and experience, and the first who appreciated the value of studying accurately the phenomena, effects, and terminations of disease. It does not appear, however, notwithstanding the vague and general panegyrics of Riolan, Bartholin, Le Clerc, and Portal, that the anatomical knowledge of this illustrious person was either accurate or profound. Of the works ascribed to Hippocrates, five only are genuine. Most of them were written either by subsequent authors of the same name, or by one or other of the numerous impostors who took advantage of the zealous munificence of the Ptolemies, by fabricating works under that illustrious name. Of the few which are genuine, there is none expressly devoted to anatomy ; and of his knowledge on this subject the only proofs are to be found in the exposition of his physiological opinions, and his medical or surgical instructions. From these it appears that Hippocrates had some accurate notions on osteology, but that of the structure of the human body in general his ideas were at once superficial and erroneous. In his book on injuries of the head, and in that on fractures, he shows that he knew the sutures of the cranium and the relative situation of the bones, and that he had some notion of the shape of the bones in general, and of their mutual connections. Of the muscles, of the soft parts in general, and of the internal organs, his ideas are confused, indistinct, and erroneous. The term &amp;lt;/&amp;gt;Ae/?s he seems, in imitation of the colloquial Greek, to have used generally