a|nat|o|my

a|nat|o|my «uh NAT uh mee», noun, plural -mies.

1. the science of the structure of animals and plants, based upon dissection, microscopic observation, and other analyses. Anatomy is a part of biology. »

Doctors study human anatomy.

2. a book about this.

3. the dissecting of animals or plants to study the position and structure of their parts.

4. the structure of an animal or plant: »

The anatomy of an earthworm is much simpler than that of a man.

5. Figurative. the detailed examining of the parts or elements of a thing; analysis: »

The Anatomy of Melancholy (Robert Burton).

6. Archaic. a skeleton.

╂[< Late Latin anatomia < Greek anatom dissection < ana- up + témnein cut]