Reclaiming Anatomy as Method: From Morphological Reasoning to Clinical Relevance

In recent decades, molecular biology and omics technologies have profoundly reshaped biomedical research, with genomics, proteomics, and other high-throughput approaches dominating scientific agendas and funding priorities. Within this molecular paradigm, however, the anatomical sciences face an epistemic and institutional tension: morphology, historically grounded in the study of form, structure, and spatial relationships, is increasingly framed as merely descriptive or obsolete. This Viewpoint moves beyond the familiar narrative of a “decline of anatomy” to argue for its strategic reinvention as a core scientific method. Anatomy is not simply a body of knowledge but a way of seeing and reasoning that remains essential for understanding biological systems. Morphological thinking—linking structure to function in situ—provides integrative insights that cannot be derived from molecular data alone. Based on historical perspectives, epistemology, and recent advances in imaging and integrative methodologies, we show how anatomy continues to drive hypothesis generation, biomedical innovation, and clinical decision-making. Using the Italian academic system as a case study, we highlight the growing institutional disconnect between anatomical teaching and morphologically grounded research, exacerbated by metric-driven evaluation frameworks. Finally, we propose a roadmap for embedding morphology within emerging platforms such as spatial biology, high-resolution imaging, and AI-assisted analysis, reclaiming anatomy as a methodological compass for navigating biological complexity and clinical translation.