Anatomy is the identification and description of the structures of living things. It is a branch of biology and medicine. The study of anatomy goes back over 2,000 years, to the Ancient Greeks. It can be divided into three broad areas: Human anatomy, zootomy, or animal anatomy, and phytotomy, which is plant anatomy. Human anatomy is the study of the structures of the human body. An understanding of anatomy is key to the practice of health and medicine. The word anatomy comes from the Greek words ana, meaning up, and tome, meaning a cutting.