Human anatomy is a branch of medicine that keeps many students of their first years of medical studies awake at night. The reason for such a situation is, for example, the complexity of the anatomy of the human body - to master it well, you need to spend many hours of intense study. But what exactly does anatomy do and what are its types?

What is human anatomy?

Human anatomy has been occupied by researchers for centuries. Hippocrates, who described the anatomy of the human skeleton and muscles, had a share in its development. The works of another Greek, Galen, were also important in learning about the structure of the human body. The aforementioned researchers, as well as many others, analyzed the structure of the human body in detail and finally today we can simply say that the human anatomy is generally well understood.

Anatomy is primarily of interest to doctors - after all, it is this type of specialists who need to know where which organ lies in order to be able to properly diagnose and treat their patients' diseases later. Learning anatomy is certainly not easy - you can often hear from medical students that during their studies the most important thing is to pass this particular subject and that later it will only be easier.

This situation comes from the fact that every structure in the human body has a name: if you mention here that there are more than two hundred bones in a human, it is already clear why learning anatomy can be difficult.

Human anatomy may theoretically seem to be a science that does not change over the years, but in practice it is not quite so. The changes concern, for example, the terminology used in this medical discipline - just as in the past Latin was dominant in the anatomical language, so nowadays it is abandoned in favor of the use of anatomical terms derived from the English language.

Human anatomy: types

There are at least several types of anatomy. The basic division lists:

  • macroscopic anatomy (which focuses around structures visible to the naked eye),
  • microscopic anatomy (assessing elements of the body that are invisible without the use of specialized equipment, such as a microscope).

The latter are related to such fields of medicine as cytology (the study of the cells of the human body) and histology (the study of the tissues that make up the human body).

The above are not the only types of anatomy - apart from them, they are also distinguished:

  • normal anatomy (describing the structure of the body's normal structures),
  • pathological anatomy (focusing on changes in the human body caused by various diseases),
  • topographic anatomy (characterizing the connections between various organs of the human body),
  • functional anatomy (which describes the organs of the human body functionally),
  • radiological anatomy (related to describing how the human body structure looks in the imaging tests performed, including ultrasound, X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging).

Human anatomy: the basics of anatomy

The main parts of the human body are the head, neck, torso, and the arms and legs. In all people the correct outline of the body is similar, but there are some individual differences between people - it is because of them that some of us have longer, and others shorter, upper or lower limbs.

The proportions between the above-mentioned basic elements of the body in all people are also similar, but not identical. It is worth mentioning here that they change with age. Initially, even the height of the head corresponds to the length of as much as ¼ of the whole body. Only later does the size of the torso and limbs increase. Ultimately, the length of the torso including the head reaches about 50% of the length of the whole body, and the length of the torso itself is 31%.

The length of the lower limb usually corresponds to 52% of the length of the entire body, and of the upper limbs up to 45%.

The ratio of height to head height is interesting - as it may initially correspond to the length of 25% of the entire body, in adulthood this value reaches 10-15%.

Human anatomy: terms used in anatomy

Anatomists use terms that may be extremely foreign to people who do not have much in common with this discipline. We are talking here, for example, about the axes, planes and lines of the body. The axis of the body includes the following:

  • vertical axis: it is the axis perpendicular to the plane on which the human is standing, an example of a vertical axis is e.g. the one that connects the top of the head with the last cusp vertebra,
  • transverse axis: axis connecting two points located at the same height on the right and left side of the body,
  • sagittal axis: extends from front to back andis perpendicular to the transverse and longitudinal axes.

With the use of the axes, the body planes are determined, which are:

  • plane,
  • transverse plane,
  • frontal plane.

In order to be able to describe the structure of the human body even more precisely, there are also specific lines, which are:

  • front midline: it extends in the median plane (which is the sagittal plane containing the major axis - this is the vertical axis that passes through the top of the head),
  • sternum line: it runs along the edge of the sternum,
  • mid-clavicle line: cuts the center of the clavicle,
  • parasternal line: stretches between the sternal line and the mid-clavicle line,
  • anterior axillary line: runs through the anterior axillary fold,
  • midaxillary line: line extending through the highest point of the armpit,
  • posterior axillary line: it crosses the posterior axillary fold,
  • vane line: it runs through the lowest blade angle,
  • paravertebral line: line running through the articular processes of the vertebrae,
  • posterior midline: running in the median plane along the spinous processes of the vertebrae of the spine.

Human anatomy: organ systems

All human organs are in some way related to each other - some less with the other, others more - but some relationships between some organs are particularly clear, and therefore they are grouped into organ systems. The divisions of human systems can be really different, but below we present the most frequently mentioned human organ systems.

Human Anatomy: Digestive System

The digestive system begins with the mouth and includes the tongue, teeth and salivary glands in it.

It then continues and includes:

  • esophagus,
  • stomach,
  • small intestine,
  • large intestine,

and various additional organs, such as:

  • liver,
  • gall bladder,
  • pancreas.

The primary function of the digestive system is to receive and then digest food and then absorb the necessary nutrients for the body. The organs of the digestive system, however, perform many other important functions, e.g. the liver produces clotting factors and metabolizes many different substances, while the pancreas - by secreting insulin or glucagon - controls the body's carbohydrate metabolism.

Human anatomy: cardiovascular system

The cardiovascular system (circulatory system) includes primarily the heart and blood vessels - veins and arteries. The heart is a pump through which blood - a liquid containing nutrients or oxygen necessary for the body's cells - reaches all the structures of the body.

Blood from the heart (more precisely from the right ventricle) is directed through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs, where it is oxygenated and returns to the left atrium through the pulmonary veins. From there, it enters the left ventricle of the heart, from where - through the aorta - it is directed to all organs of the body.

The oxygen-depleted blood returns to the right atrium through the vena cava - the upper and the inferior - and the entire cycle of blood circulation is repeated.

Human anatomy: respiratory system

The respiratory system includes the nasal cavities, pharynx, larynx, trachea and lungs. The basic task of this organ system is gas exchange: it is in the alveoli belonging to it that oxygen enters the body and at the same time removes carbon dioxide from it.

Gas exchange is certainly the most important task of the respiratory system, but definitely not the only one - it takes part, for example, in thermoregulation.

human anatomy: reproductive system

Thanks to the reproductive system, humans have the opportunity to reproduce. Just like other systems in people of the opposite sex have a basically similar structure, in the case of this one system the differences are clearly noticeable.

In women, the reproductive system includes the vagina, uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. In men, the testicles, vas deferens and penis are present in the scrotum.

When discussing the reproductive system, it is also worth noting that in men there is one gland that is not found in women - we are talking about the prostate gland, i.e. the prostate.

Human anatomy: nervous system

The nervous system is often considered the most important organ system in humans - for good reason, because it is the nervous system that can be compared to a specific management center for the whole body.

It distinguishes the central nervous system (to which the brain and spinal cord belong) and the peripheral nervous system (consisting of nerves and ganglia originating from the brain and spinal cord).

The nervous system controls the activity of individual organs, but also enables us - through the sensory organs - to receive various stimuli from the environment.

Human anatomy: endocrine (endocrine) system

For the structures of the endocrine system (endocrine system)organs that can release various hormones are included. Therefore, it consists mainly of:

  • thyroid,
  • pituitary gland,
  • adrenal glands,
  • gonads (testes and ovaries),
  • parathyroid glands,
  • pancreas (the last of the listed ones can therefore be considered a special organ, as it is part of both the endocrine and digestive systems).

It should be emphasized here, however, that the above-mentioned only organs classified as classically classified as endocrine systems - in fact, organs that show endocrine activity in the human body are much more.

Hormones secreted by organs of the endocrine system perform many important functions in the body, incl. Thyroid hormones control metabolism, parathyroid hormones affect calcium metabolism, and pituitary hormones - such as growth hormone - determine human growth.

Human anatomy: lymphatic system

Basically, the lymphatic system is similar to the circulatory system - it also includes an extensive network of vessels - lymphatic vessels, however, transport a fluid other than blood, i.e. lymph (lymph). This liquid is located between the individual cells of the body and is transported in it, among others substances of fatty origin, but also cells of the immune system.

Human anatomy: locomotor system

The locomotor system (or the musculoskeletal system) includes the human skeleton (it includes bones, joints, ligaments and tendons) and muscles attached to these structures.

As you can guess, this system is responsible for the fact that we can move, but it also has other functions. Examples include the task of the bone marrow, which is responsible for the production of new red blood cells, or the fact that bones affect the body's calcium metabolism.

Human anatomy: urinary system

The urinary system includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. The kidneys are one of the most important organs of the body, because they are the site of blood filtration, thanks to which toxic substances can be removed from the body.

The urinary system not only removes, but also regulates - it is responsible for the excretion of excessive amounts of water from the body.

Human Anatomy: The Immune System

The immune system is certainly a special system - it is probably the most widely scattered system in the body throughout the body. It includes, among others white blood cells (leukocytes, e.g. macrophages,granulocytes and lymphocytes), as well as the thymus and lymph nodes.

As the name suggests, the basic function of the immune system is to defend the body against various harmful factors, such as pathogenic organisms - it can fulfill this task thanks to the activity of its cells, but also thanks to various substances produced by them, such as, for example, cytokines or antibodies.

Human anatomy: body shell

The human body is in contact with the outside world through the body shell. They include:

  • leather,
  • hair,
  • nails,
  • sweat glands,
  • sebaceous glands.

The task of the body's integuments is to maintain its integrity, but also to maintain the proper body temperature (which is influenced by the sebaceous glands) or to enable the reception of stimuli from the environment (various types of receptors - sensitive to temperature, touch or pain, among others - they are finally present in the skin).

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of medicine at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

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