Sobotta atlas of human anatomy (4/4)

In the preface to the first edition of his Atlas, Johannes Sobotta wrote in May 1904: "Many years of experience in anatomical dissection led the author to proceed with the presentation of the peripheral nervous system and the blood vessels such that the illustrations of the book are presented to the student exactly in the same manner as body parts are presented to them in the dissection laboratories, i.e. simultaneous presentation of blood vessels and nerves of the same region. Alternating descriptive and image materials are distinctive features of this atlas. The images are the core piece of the atlas. Apart from table legends, auxiliary and schematic drawings, the descriptive material includes short and concise text parts suitable for use of this book in the gross anatomy laboratory." As with fashions, reading and study habits of students change periodically. The multimedia presence and availability of information as well as stimuli are certainly the main reasons of ever changing study habits. These developments and changing demands of students to textbooks and atlases, which they utilise, as well as the availability of digital media of textbook contents, is accounted for by editors and publishers. Apart from interviews and systematic surveys of students, the textbook sector is occasionally an indicator enabling the evaluation of expectations of students. Detailed textbooks with the absolute claim of completeness are exchanged in favour of educational books that are tailored to the didactic needs of students and the contents of the study of human medicine, dentistry, and biomedical sciences, as well as the corresponding examinations. Similarly, illustrations in atlases such as the Sobotta, which contain exact naturalistic depiction of real anatomical specimens, fascinate doctors and associated medical professions for many generations throughout the world. However, students sometimes perceive them as too complicated and detailed. This awareness requires the consideration of how the strength of the atlas, which is known for its standards of accuracy and quality during its centennial existence featuring 22 editions, can be adapted to modern educational concepts without compromising the oeuvre's unique characteristics and authenticity. After careful consideration, Elsevier and the editors Professor Reinhard Putz and Professor Reinhard Pabst, who were in charge of the atlas up to its 22nd edition, came to the conclusion that a new editorial team with the same great enthusiasm for anatomy and teaching would meet the new requirements best. Together with the Elsevier publishing house, we are extremely pleased to be charged with the new composition of the 23rd edition of Sobotta. In redesigning, a very clear outline of contents and a didactic introduction to the pictures was taken into account. Not every fashion is accompanied with something entirely new. Under didactical aspects we have revisited the old concept of a three-volume atlas, as used in Sobotta's first edition, with: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System (vol. 1), Internal Organs (vol. 2), and Head, Neck, and Neuroanatomy (vol. 3). We have also adopted, although slightly modified, the approach mentioned already in the preface of the first edition, i.e. combining the figures in the atlas with explanatory text which is an old trend being currently back into fashion once more. Each image is accompanied by a short explanatory text, which serves to introduce students to the image, explaining why the particular preparation and presentation of a region was selected. The individual chapters were systematically organised in terms of current subject matter and prevailing study habits; omitted and incomplete illustrations - particularly the systematics of the neurovascular pathways - were supplemented or replaced. The majority of these new figures are conceptualised to facilitate studying the relevant pathways of blood supply and innervation by didactical aspects. We have also reviewed many existing figures, reduced figure legends, and highlighted keywords by bold print to simplify access to the anatomical contents. Numerous clinical examples are used to enhance the "lifeless anatomy", present the relevance of anatomy for the future career to the student, and provide a taste of what's to come. Introductions to the individual chapters received a new conceptual design, covering in brief a summary of the content, the associated clinical aspects, and relevant dissection steps for the covered topic. It serves as a checklist for the requirements of the Institute of Medical and Pharmaceutical Examination Questions (IMPP) and is based on the German oral part of the preclinical medical examination (Physikum). Also new are brief introductions to each topic in embryology and the online connections of the atlas with the ability to download all images for reports, lectures, and presentations.