What classic anatomy textbook is echoed in the title Grey's Anatomy?

What classic anatomy textbook is echoed in the title Grey’s Anatomy? The title echoes Gray’s Anatomy, the classic human-anatomy textbook.

Gray’s Anatomy was first published in 1858 under the title Gray’s Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. It was written by English anatomist Henry Gray, with the original illustrations produced by Henry Vandyke Carter. The work became an influential reference for medical students and practitioners.

The television title changes Gray to Grey, matching the surname of central character Meredith Grey. That spelling creates a deliberate double reference: it points both to the textbook and to Meredith’s life as a surgeon. The apostrophe also makes the title read like anatomy belonging to Grey.

The book remains widely known, but its editions have been revised repeatedly over more than a century. It should not be confused with an atlas such as Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy, which is a different medical reference work.