This paper presents a survey of recent applications of urban morphology in the practice of urban design, conservation and planning. The aim of the survey is to illustrate how the tools of urban morphology, in particular the idea of urban tissue as a key, coordinating point of reference, can provide an essential foundation for understanding the structure and complexity of the built environment as well as for creating, transforming and managing it. Along the way, analogies are drawn with anatomy, surgery and craftsmanship to highlight the fact that skill in practice depends on an articulated and comprehensive understanding of the material with which you are working. The paper ends by concluding that such analogies in themselves are not a substitute for the detailed knowledge of the substance and structure of urban form provided by urban morphology, particularly if our aim is to plan and design a better built environment.