The study of tissue structures and organs in organisms including animals and humans is called anatomy. Although ancient civilizations studied human anatomy, the practice of human anatomy illustrations started quite late in the domain of medical science. It was mostly because cultural norms and religious beliefs prevented people from exploring and illustrating the human anatomy in depth. There were a lot of restrictions on the human body dissection, which was considered a debasement. So, there were hardly any realistic human anatomy illustrations.

This changed in the fourteenth century when Andreas Vesalius put forth his seven-volume work called De corporis humani fabrica libri septem, which is roughly translated to On the Structure of the Human Body. In this volume, Vesalius incorporated human anatomy illustrations and texts based on actual dissections. After this, the study of human anatomy acquired a scientific method. Another important work of modern anatomy has been Gray’s Anatomy, which was published in 1858 by Sir Henry Gray, an English surgeon.

Since Gray’s work, the study of human anatomy and human anatomy illustrations have come a long way. Now, you will find standalone courses that teach human anatomy in intricate details. If you are curious to know more, here are a few popular human anatomy online courses for you:

• Human Anatomy and Physiology from ed2go: This is a six-week course covers concepts human anatomy and physiology. The course goes into the details of all the 11 organ systems. With detailed human anatomy illustrations, this course is designed to give a better understanding and appreciation of the human body.
• Diploma in Human Anatomy and Physiology from Alison: This course is designed for students in the fields of medicine, anatomy, biomedical science, and physiology. This course covers the basics of human physiology and anatomy; this makes the course suitable for anyone interested in studying human anatomy. The course is available free of cost. An official certificate can be obtained by paying for the course.
• Anatomy and Physiology MOOC from Class Central: This free course is 8 weeks long. The course has 20 lectures that comprise of podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, audios, and transcripts. The course aims to provide a wholesome understanding of human anatomy and physiology.
• Instant Anatomy: A course in Human Anatomy from Udemy: This is a 22.5-hour course. The course covers all the aspects of embryology and the human body. The coursework is designed based on clinically applied topographical anatomy. The course material contains 1100 human anatomy illustrations and 22 hours of audio lectures. This course is aimed towards students of nursing, anatomy, medical, and physiotherapy.