TY - JOUR
AU - Organ, Jason M.
AB - By Patrick W. Tank and Thomas R. Gest 432 pp, $79.95 Baltimore, MD, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009 ISBN-13: 978-0-7817-8505-1 As the number of anatomy curriculum hours continues to decrease at many major medical schools, Tank and Gest recognized the need for a new anatomical atlas emphasizing those structures most likely to be taught in the modern curricula. Provided with the unique opportunity to build an original atlas from the ground up, the authors of this fine volume did not disappoint. Drawing on their combined 60 years of classroom teaching experience, they designed an atlas with a strong approach to presenting anatomical information in a sequence not only logical from a teaching perspective but highly accessible to students as well. In fact, the authors' primary intent in their design was to create images that are faster and easier for students to use, because “speed and ease of use have become critical needs in the era of compressed anatomical curricula” (p vii). Illustration of the thoracic cage courtesy of the artist, C. Taylor, and with permission from P. Tank, T. Gest, and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. For the most part, the atlas presents anatomy in a regional perspective, beginning with the back and limbs, continuing with the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis and perineum, finishing with the head and neck. In addition, the autonomic nervous system is systematically presented, providing an in-depth treatment of this complicated anatomy. In each section, the authors take their audience on a journey from outside in, beginning with surface anatomy and ultimately progressing deeper through different dissection fields. This approach, coupled with consistent viewpoints for the images (ie, specimens are always placed in anatomical position, and perspectives are always directly anterior, posterior, medial, or lateral), makes the information easily accessible to the novice anatomy student and the not-so-novice instructor alike. One of the most striking differences between this atlas and its contemporaries is the effective use of a ghosting technique in many of the illustrations, wherein a structure passing behind another structure is still visible through the structure in the foreground. The advantage of this technique is that 3-dimensional relationships of important structures—relationships often left to the imagination of the reader in other atlases—can be appreciated in 2 dimensions. In fact, some of the most effective uses of this ghosting technique are found in the illustrations of the inguinal region. In my experience, students often struggle to understand which tissue layers of the anterior abdominal wall contribute to the superficial and deep inguinal rings. This difficulty often stems from the fact that traditional atlases, as well as students' own cadaver dissections, do not often convey this information effectively. However, using this ghosting technique not only allows Tank and Gest to show an external view of all 3 muscular layers and the transversalis fascia (with the contents of the inguinal canal appropriately illustrated) but also enables them to “reverse” the image and present an internal view of the same structures and their 3-dimensional relationships. Indeed, the illustrations and labeling of the pectineal and lacunar ligaments are among the best I have seen, and I often found myself reaching for this atlas when students visited me with questions outside of the dissection laboratory. In addition to the atlas, the authors and publisher offer a set of online supporting products, with the primary goal of aiding students in their mastery of anatomy. For example, all of the illustrations are available in an interactive, electronic format, enabling students to search images and compare features across images. Students can also use the interactive labeling exercises available online to test their individual knowledge of anatomy in preparation for examinations. In short, this is a modern atlas constructed to complement a modern anatomy curriculum and designed to meet the needs of modern, computer-savvy students. While the level of detail presented in other atlases often exceeds that presented in the Atlas of Anatomy, the effective manner in which information is presented for beginning medical and allied health students is beyond compare. Back to top Article Information Financial Disclosures: None reported.
TI - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Atlas of Anatomy
JO - JAMA
DO - 10.1001/jama.2009.593
DA - 2009-05-06
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/american-medical-association/lippincott-williams-wilkins-atlas-of-anatomy-oldTPzC3kb
SP - 1825
EP - 1831
VL - 301
IS - 17
DP - DeepDyve
ER -