anatomical

adjective an·a·tom·i·cal \ ˌa-nə-ˈtä-mi-kəl \

variants: or less commonly anatomic play \ˌa-nə-ˈtä-mik\

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Definition of anatomical

: of or relating to anatomy or the body structure of organisms

anatomical studies/structures/mechanisms

The mollusks are divided according to common anatomical traits into seven classes …
—Carol M. Lalli and Ronald W. Gilmer

Mayberg has been mapping anatomical areas of the brain that are either hyperactive or inactive in depressed men and women.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by a broad array of physiologic and anatomic abnormalities, but its most notable feature is disturbed glucose metabolism, which results in inappropriate hyperglycemia.
—George F. Cahill, Jr. et al.

Recent Examples of anatomical from the Web

So many gulfs separate us now: geographical, anatomical, psychological.

— ferris jabr, Smithsonian, "It’s Official: Fish Feel Pain," 8 Jan. 2018
Sparks is up here constantly, examining the models for anatomical correctness.

— kevin dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "Unseen Oceans: How the American Museum of Natural History Builds a New Exhibit," 21 June 2018
Its large windows illuminate rows of bookshelves and a small anatomical model of the human brain on her coffee table.

— lisa wood shapiro, WIRED, "The End of Dyslexia," 18 June 2018
Lawyers for Lightcap and the other plaintiffs said the school district violated their right to privacy by allowing students with different physical anatomy to be in spaces previously designated for people with the same anatomical gender.

— NBC News, "School can let trans students use bathroom of choice, court rules," 25 May 2018
Researchers studied the shrimps’ key anatomical features, like the legs, mouthparts and shells, according to a statement by ZooKeys publisher Pensoft.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Introducing a Hairy-Footed Shrimp Named After Bilbo Baggins," 13 June 2018
Then Rai pulls out those four models of fetuses at different stages in a pregnancy, although doctors may take issue with their anatomical accuracy -- the model representing the development of a 12 week fetus has perfectly formed fingers and toes.

— rojita adhikari, CNN, "Pro-life activists target rural Nepali women," 8 June 2018
But scientists share a general belief that anatomical differences account for the higher rate in women.

— nicholas bakalar, New York Times, "Herpes Is Slowly Retreating, but the Infection Remains Common," 9 Feb. 2018
In it, books of beautifully rendered anatomical drawings and shelves filled with flawless models of human heads spoke to his obsessive study.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 7: Decoding Da Vinci," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anatomical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.