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the science dealing with the structure of animals and plants.
the structure of an animal or plant, or of any of its parts.
dissection of all or part of an animal or plant in order to study its structure.
a plant or animal that has been or will be dissected, or a model of such a dissected organism.
a skeleton.
Informal. the human body.
an analysis or minute examination.
Contemporary Examples

If an HBO script were to address a call girl’s anatomy in this way, it wouldn’t be so funny.
The Sex Lives of Male Hookers Tracy Quan July 5, 2009

Have a look here to understand the anatomy of a human joint.
What’s Synovitis—and How Sick Will It Make Lady Gaga? Kent Sepkowitz February 13, 2013

Can the anatomy of violence shed light on what made the Boston bombers tick?
What Made the Boston Bombers Do It Adrian Raine May 2, 2013

It may sound like a lame excuse, but the authors say men are wired to view women’s anatomy as objects.
Secrets of Online Sex Jessica Bennett April 23, 2011

No one disputes that the sexes differ in hormones and anatomy.
The Best of Brit Lit Peter Stothard February 1, 2011

Historical Examples

Psychology is therefore of equal importance with anatomy and acoustics as an element of Vocal Science.
The Psychology of Singing David C. Taylor

Its use has practically been superseded by the study of anatomy.
Albert Durer T. Sturge Moore

Nobody e’d have blamed you any if you’d aimed at a vital section of his anatomy; but you let him off with little more’n a scratch.
Kiddie the Scout Robert Leighton

His legs were the only part of his anatomy which seemed to him as long as his nose.
A Boy I Knew and Four Dogs Laurence Hutton

Until the end of the fifteenth century progress in anatomy was almost imperceptible.
The Legacy of Greece Various

noun (pl) -mies
the science concerned with the physical structure of animals and plants
the physical structure of an animal or plant or any of its parts
a book or treatise on this subject
dissection of an animal or plant
any detailed analysis: the anatomy of a crime
(informal) the human body
n.

late 14c., “study of the structure of living beings;” c.1400, “anatomical structures,” from Old French anatomie, from Late Latin anatomia, from Greek anatomia, from anatome “dissection,” from ana- “up” (see ana-) + temnein “to cut” (see tome). “Dissection” (1540s), “mummy” (1580s), and “skeleton” (1590s) were primary senses of this word in Shakespeare’s day; meaning “the science of the structure of organized bodies” predominated from 17c. Often mistakenly divided as an atomy or a natomy.

The scyence of the Nathomy is nedefull and necessarye to the Cyrurgyen [1541]

anatomy a·nat·o·my (ə-nāt’ə-mē)
n.

The morphological structure of a plant or an animal or of any of its parts.

The science of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts.

Dissection of an animal to study the structure, position, and interrelation of its various parts.

A skeleton.

The human body.

anatomy
(ə-nāt’ə-mē)

The structure of an organism or any of its parts.

The scientific study of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts.

anatomical adjective (ān’ə-tŏm’ĭ-kəl)

The structure of an animal or plant; also, the study of this structure through techniques such as microscopic observation and dissection. (Compare morphology and physiology.)