The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science".[1]
The society organises scientific meetings, publishes the Journal of Anatomy and Aging Cell and makes annual awards of PhD studentships, grants and prizes.
The society was suggested in early 1887 by Charles Barrett Lockwood, a surgeon and anatomist at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London and the first meeting was held on 6 May 1887. Lockwood was elected as Secretary and Sir George Murray Humphry, Professor of Anatomy and the first Professor of Surgery at Cambridge University, as first President of the society. Two resolutions were adopted: "That an Anatomical Society be founded, and that it be called the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland" and "That the scope and object of the Society be the Anatomy, Embryology and Histology of Man and of Animals in so far as they throw light upon the structure of Man."
In 2010 the name of the society was changed to "The Anatomical Society"
| Notes: | The Anatomical Society was granted armorial bearings by the College of Arms on 1 October 2014,[2] which consist of: |
| the Anatomical Society | |
| Crest: | A demi Lion Or holding with the dexter paw a Rod of Aesculapius Sable the serpent Gules and resting the sinister paw on a Human Skull Argent |
| Escutcheon: | Sable fretty Argent and Bezanty on each Bezant a Roundel Gules over all a Chevron Argent |
| Supporters: | On the dexter a male Écorché and on the sinister a naked Caucasian Woman proper crined Or |
| Motto: | "Ex conformatione usus" (Latin for "From structure comes function" |
| Badge: | A Lion rampant Or holding with the forepaws a Rod of Aesculapius Sable the serpent Gules and resting the dexter hindpaw on a Human Skull Argent |
| Symbolism: | "The design alludes to the professions of members of the Anatomical Society who comprise medical practitioners, dentists, vets, scientists and artists. The frets in the Arms represent neural cells and the roundels within them, stem cells (for the scientists). A chevron is one of a series of bones on the ventral side of the tail in many reptiles and some mammals. The lion, the king of beasts (for the vets), in the Crest and in the Badge supports a Rod of Aesculapius (for the medical practitioners) and rests its paw on a skull (with teeth for the dentists). The Supporters are a male écorché and a female nude (for the artists)."[3] |
The presidents of the Anatomical Society:[4]