Anatomy articles from across Nature Portfolio

The vascular system has many different functions across the human body beyond its role in oxygen and nutrient transport. We explored vascular cell heterogeneity by integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing data from the Human Cell Atlas and ongoing collaborations across 19 healthy human organs and tissues, and highlight shared and distinct molecular features of vascular beds.

A case study has revealed widespread changes to the maternal brain during pregnancy. This is a milestone in the emerging neuroscience of ‘matrescence’ — the idea that pregnancy is a developmental stage in adulthood.

Advances in islet cell biology over the past few years highlight a fundamental role for intra-islet endocrine cell interactions and δ-cells in the regulation of glycaemia. New insights into how cellular heterogeneity and individual-level heterogeneity effect hormone secretion have also emerged.

A hybrid imaging paradigm featuring structural, functional connectivity and meta-analyticfunctional decoding reveals spatially segregated subunits in the arcuate fasciculus, each withdistinct functional implications.

Research siloes slow the translation of scientific discovery to patient care and limit progress in improving treatments for Cushing disease to incremental advances. Facilitating collaborative efforts that study the complexity of pituitary neuroendocrine tumours would advance the development of _targeted treatments for patients who experience a low quality of life for years owing to this rare and understudied disease.

New and repurposed obesity drugs, daring space missions and climate-action policies are among the developments set to shape research in 2025.

Biomarkers could monitor ageing in the brain, revealing ways to treat dementia and other age-related brain disorders.

The vascular system has many different functions across the human body beyond its role in oxygen and nutrient transport. We explored vascular cell heterogeneity by integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing data from the Human Cell Atlas and ongoing collaborations across 19 healthy human organs and tissues, and highlight shared and distinct molecular features of vascular beds.

A case study has revealed widespread changes to the maternal brain during pregnancy. This is a milestone in the emerging neuroscience of ‘matrescence’ — the idea that pregnancy is a developmental stage in adulthood.

Advances in islet cell biology over the past few years highlight a fundamental role for intra-islet endocrine cell interactions and δ-cells in the regulation of glycaemia. New insights into how cellular heterogeneity and individual-level heterogeneity effect hormone secretion have also emerged.