Department of Anatomical Sciences

The Department of Anatomical Sciences was established as the Department of Anatomy in 1919. The Department currently comprises of three academic divisions:

• Morphological Anatomy
• Structural Biology (Histology)
• Biological Anthropology

The Department's academic and technical staff work together to instruct undergraduate students registered primarily through the Faculty of Health Sciences on the structure and development of the human body, in addition to human biology and cell biology to students registered in the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Health Science programmes.

The current research activities of the Department are broad, covering the fields of Biological Anthropology, Comparative Neurosciences, Adult Neurogenesis, and Cell, Reproductive and Developmental Biology.

The Department houses two significant skeletal collections of human as well as non-human material. The Raymond Dart Collection of Human Skeletons, initiated in the early 1920's, houses one of the largest human skeletal collections in the world, and the Comparative Collection contains an extensive collection of non-human anatomical and skeletal specimens. The Hunterian Museum is an active teaching museum possessing numerous anatomical specimens.

Celebrating the Wits 100 year anniversary in style!