A person's understanding of the structure, composition, lifestyle and types of interaction of all living creatures on the planet helps him to use this knowledge for his own purposes, for the benefit of the development of human civilization. Moreover, interest in the world was always inherent in people. Since ancient times, man has been trying to find out how organisms are arranged, what they are, what they are and what significance they have.
That is why over time such a discipline as biology was born and gained the most enormous popularity among the sciences. At first, it concerned only plants, then animals, humans, microorganisms, and finally reached the stage in its development when it became possible to look inside the smallest creatures. On the path of formation, many subsidiary sciences have budged from biology, which are now all integrated and make up its essence.
Biological sciences
There are a number of different sciences that include biology. Consider their classification.
I. General Sciences
- Systematics.
- Morphology (anatomy, histology, cytology).
- Physiology.
- Evolutionary doctrine.
- Biogeography.
- Ecology.
- Genetics.
II. Integrated
- Parasitology.
- Hydrobiology.
- Soil science.
III. Private sciences
- Botany.
- Zoology.
- Anthropology.
This method of division of biological disciplines was proposed by the scientist B. G. Johannesen in 1969, and he has not lost its relevance to this day. This classification covers almost all major disciplines, except the most modern ones - biotechnology, biochemistry, genetic and cellular engineering, and some medical sciences.
Anatomy and related disciplines
One of the earliest and most important biological disciplines is anatomy. Here we will consider it in more detail.
Firstly, the question arises: what is anatomy? What is she studying? There are several answers that can be formulated. But the essence is as follows.
Anatomy is the science of the form of organs and systems of organs, their structure and functioning. This discipline is a section of morphology and in itself includes two varieties:
- plant anatomy - the structure, shape and location of organs and tissues in plant creatures;
- the anatomy of animals and humans is all the same, only for representatives of the fauna.
Anatomy with other sciences is in close interaction, and this is not surprising. It is difficult to study the molecular structure of the liver cell if you do not know what the liver is, where it is and what functions it performs. Therefore, this discipline occupies a very important place in the general system of biological sciences.
Anatomy itself is divided into the following varieties:
- comparative;
- systematic;
- age;
- topographic;
- plastic;
- functional;
- experimental morphology.
Each section has its own goals and objectives of the study, its own object and subject of research and makes a very big contribution to the accumulation of the theoretical knowledge base in biology.
The goals and objectives of science
Anatomy - what is this discipline specifically studying? To answer, we turn to the goals and objectives of this science.
Purpose: to form accurate theoretical knowledge, supported by experimental practical research, about the structure of the human body, the shape and position of its organs and systems, their formation in the process of evolution and transformation over time under the influence of environmental factors.
In connection with the goal, anatomy is a science that solves the following tasks:
- To study the stages of the formation of man and his body in the process of evolutionary development.
- Consider the structure of organs, their systems and study the patterns of change as a result of age-related transformations.
- To study the influence of environmental conditions and factors on the development and formation of organs and systems of the human body.
Thus, we received a concrete and complete answer to the question "Anatomy - what is it?" and we can proceed to consider the history of the development of this science.
History of Anatomy as a Science
As a science, this discipline was formed only in the 18th century. However, theoretical knowledge began to accumulate in ancient times, thanks to the works of such great people as Hippocrates, Aristotle, Herophilus, Erasistratus and others.
We will more fully and clearly examine how anatomy (the science of man) was formed by epoch in the form of a table.
| Ancient Greece, Egypt, Persia and China (460 g. BC. - XIII century AD) | Middle Ages and Renaissance (XIII - XVIII centuries) | New and Modern (XVIII - XXI centuries) |
| 1. "Ayurveda" (Indian book). Contained descriptions of certain human organs, muscles and nerves. | The beginning of the Middle Ages is characterized by stagnation in the development of anatomical knowledge. Nothing is studied and not investigated, as it is forbidden by the church. But already the end of the XVII - the beginning of the XVIII century - this is the period of the Renaissance. At this time, a series of events unfolded, which became an important milestone in the history of science. | This period is characterized by the creation of magnifying devices that allow you to open small structures and microorganisms. Medical anatomy appears. New methods of studying living organisms, including humans, are being formed. A clear concept is determined that anatomy is a science that studies not just organs, but entire systems, their work and formation throughout life. |
| 2. "Neijing" (Chinese book). Includes descriptions of the heart, kidneys, liver, and other human organs. | 1. The Italian Mondino in 1316 creates the first textbook, which states that anatomy is a science about human organs, their life. | 1. Karl Baer (1792-1876) - discovered the human egg, studied the mechanisms of formation of embryonic leaves and the beginning of the formation of organs from them. He became the founder of the theory of recapitulation (repetition) in embryogenesis of a human embryo of some external signs of animals. |
| 3. The Egyptian doctor Imhotep studied the components of the human body on the basis of corpses for mummification. He described all the observations and created his work in such images. | 2. 1473 g - the works of Avicenna and Celsus are published, the first medical anatomical dictionary of terms is produced. | 2. Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Charles Darwin made a huge contribution to the development of evolutionary teachings. Darwin is the author of the most widespread theory of the origin of human species and their historical development. |
| 4. Roman Herophilus and his main work "Anatomy". He purposefully studied the internal structure of human corpses, made a great contribution to the development of human anatomy, he is called the father of this discipline. | 3. The painter Leonardo da Vinci made a special contribution to the development of discipline, who skillfully used his talents as an artist to accurately sketch the muscles, organs, and parts of the skeleton of the human body. He owns more than 600 excellent, accurate and clear drawings, reflecting the work of muscles and their structure, various organs and bones. | 3. Louis Pasteur - a brilliant scientist, chemist, microbiologist. He managed to prove the impossibility of spontaneous generation of life without the participation of microorganisms. He spent many experiments proving this fact, is the father of microbiology. He also developed the first attempts to vaccinate people from diseases. |
| 5. Erasistratus (Greece) also studied anatomy on the corpses of those convicted by law. He refuted the doctrine put forward by Hippocrates about the fluids that control the human body and its diseases. Described some organs and muscles. | 4. Andreas Vesalius - doctor, researcher, creator of the seven-volume book on anatomy. One of the greatest researchers of the anatomy of his time. He acknowledged only observations and experiment; he obtained all the results by dissecting corpses and collecting bones in cemeteries. | 4. Caspar Wolf - the founder of embryogenesis, its main currents and directions. |
| 6. Claudius Galen - his works belong to 400 sources in which he described in detail dozens of structural parts of the body, including nerves and muscles. His work was the first teaching material for other people in the study of anatomy. | 5. William Harvey - made an invaluable contribution to the development of ideas about the movement of blood through the vessels. The founder of the biogenetic law, he expressed the idea of the origin of all living things from one egg. | 5. Luigi Galvani is a famous physicist who discovered nerve impulses of an electrical nature in the tissues of living creatures of animal origin. The founder of electrophysiology. |
| 7. Celsus is the founder of many medical aspects of anatomy. He studied vascular ligation, the basics of surgery and hygiene. | 6. Eustachius - opened the auditory tube, named after him (Eustachian), which connects the middle ear and the outside atmosphere. He also owns the discovery and description of the adrenal glands. Many of the organs described by him were placed in a common work, which he could not finish. | 6. Peter I made a huge contribution to the development of anatomy and medicine in Russia. It was he who set the pace thanks to which the scientists of our country were able to make a number of important and significant discoveries and give the sciences the opportunity to intensively develop. The tsar himself adopted this experience from foreign figures. The creation of the Russian Academy of Sciences was crucial in the formation of many disciplines. |
| 8. Persian doctor Abu Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - developed his theory according to which the human body has 4 main organs that are responsible for all his work: heart, testicle, liver, brain. | 7. Gabriele Fallopius - student of Vesalius. He owns the descriptions and discoveries of a number of small structural parts of the body: the eardrum, the eye and palatine muscles, and the elements of the hearing organ. He described the fundamentals of the structure of female genital organs. | 7. Pirogov N. I. - an outstanding surgeon, the founder of comparative anatomy, the inventor of the method of "ice anatomy" (sawing parts of frozen corpses for study and comparison). His work became the basis for the development of surgery. |
| 9. The Greeks Empedocles and Alkmeon. Contributed to the development of knowledge about the ear and the organs of vision, and the nerves adjacent to them. | 8. Thomas Willis - a physician who is known for discovering a number of human diseases, as well as a thorough study of the nervous system of people. | 8. P. A. Zagorsky and I. V. Buyalsky were the first to develop and publish anatomical atlases and methodological manuals for students. |
| 10. Greeks Anaxagoras and Aristophanes. They studied the brain and its membranes independently from each other, described what they saw. | 9. Gleason. He described the organs and studied the human diseases of children more carefully. | 9. P. F. Lesgaft - the founder of functional anatomy. He studied and described muscles, bones, their work and structure, joints. |
| 11. Euripides and Diogenes were able to consider the portal vein, described some parts of the circulatory system, many other organs and their work. | 10. Casparo Azelli. He made a fairly accurate description of the intestinal lymphatic vessels. He put a lot of work into the development of ideas about the action of the circulatory and lymphatic systems. | 10. V.N. Tonkov. He suggested using x-rays to study the skeleton. Founder of experimental anatomy as a discipline. |
| 12. Aristotle. He studied plants, animals and humans. He has created over 400 works from various fields of biology. He considered the basis of all living things to be the soul, pointed to the similarity in the structure of the animal and man. | 11. "Anatomical theaters" have become a very important step forward in the development of anatomy : autopsy in public. Those who wish to study medicine were allowed to such events. During the autopsy, a joint discussion was held of what he saw. Relief on the part of the Church also had a favorable effect on the study of the basics of anatomy. | 11. D.A. Zhdanov, B.I. Lavrentiev, N.M. Yakubovich made a great contribution to the development of knowledge about the structure and mechanisms of the brain, about the conduct of impulses. |
| 13. Hippocrates - the author of the idea of four body fluids: blood, mucus, black and yellow bile. Denied the theological views on the anatomy of humans and animals. | | 12. I. I. Mechnikov - author of the theory of immunity, discoverer of the phagocytosis process. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in this field. |
Of course, this is not a complete list of names whose works have great theoretical and practical value in the development of a science such as anatomy.
What is anatomy today? Modern scientists, too, do not stop there. From time to time, new discoveries of various structures and their functions occur. This means that some processes are still incomprehensible to man, and he has something to strive for.
The connection between anatomy and physiology
Anatomy and physiology are very closely related to each other. As sciences, they can only provide complete information on the structure, form, structure and functioning of a particular organ or system in a complex. That is why, along with the corresponding anatomical sciences, there is the physiology of plants and animals, including humans.
This is a very important interaction that allows you to more deeply understand the mechanisms of the human body. So, it’s right to manage them. In turn, such data is extremely important for medicine. So it turns out that almost all biological sciences are a closely interwoven tangle, pulling the thread of which you can get unique and complete information about any living creature.
Anatomy for schoolchildren
In the course of the school curriculum, one of the important subjects for high school students is anatomy. In which class does her study begin? As a science, it is taught starting from the eighth. But the first knowledge about the structure of the human body and the functioning of organs is given already in elementary school.
Subject study in elementary school
Naturally, they do not begin to study this discipline from the first grade, although some anatomical concepts are explained to the children abstractly and in an accessible form. For example, improper sitting at a desk can lead to curvature of the spine. As a rule, at this age all children already know where the spine is. And only in the fourth grade does the “real” anatomy begin. Grade 4 is the final stage of elementary education. Children are well prepared to learn to understand the most basic anatomical processes. The training is provided by the program in the course of the discipline "Environment". Children are given a general topography of organs in the human body, their name and the name of the systems that they form. An emphasis is also placed on the functions performed.
Grade 8 Anatomy
At the middle level of training, the human anatomy is most thoroughly and fully studied. Grade 8 involves a whole year of thorough and voluminous consideration of the issues of this discipline. During this period, everything is studied, from the history of the development of anatomy to the questions of higher nervous activity and childbearing.
Children are told about all the features of the structure and functioning of organ systems, their individual parts, detailed information on the influence of external factors on human development is provided. The questions of evolution and formation of the human race are raised. That is, human anatomy is studied comprehensively with other sciences.
The textbook "Grade 8. Anatomy" contains vividly illustrated, high-quality and accessible information on all issues of the discipline. In addition, electronic manuals are attached to it, involving the study of science issues virtually. Workbooks for students, as well as a number of teaching aids for teachers, have been created for the textbook.
This makes it possible to consolidate the knowledge that biology provides (human anatomy). Grade 8 is not the only one that touches on anatomical issues, but the main one.
Studying discipline in the 9th grade of a school
In some schools, this science is relevant at a later time - in the 9th grade course. Many believe that because of the complexity of the subject, assimilation will best occur precisely in this teenage, more adult period of the formation of children's consciousness.
However, there is no doubt that an earlier study of the discipline is no less effective. After all, there are many sections that biology offers students. Grade 9 “Human Anatomy” shifts to earlier stages of studying such complex issues as the molecular structure of cells and organisms in general, evolutionary doctrine. Therefore, it is difficult to say at what age it is better to study the course of anatomy. Anatomy is a science that primarily studies the structure and functions of the human body. Therefore, postponing the study "in the long box" hardly makes sense.
Grade 10 and Anatomy
Previously (until the 1980s), this discipline generally took place only in high school. It was at the last stage of training that anatomy appeared. Grade 10 was considered the most appropriate time for this.
Modern children grow up in an era of intensive transformations in science and technology. Their consciousness is more full, they have become much more developed and more capable. The volume of material for study has also increased significantly, methods and methods of teaching have changed (improved). Therefore, the transfer of the study of anatomy to grade 8 has its own logical explanations and is not negative.