INTRODUCTION:

Head and Neck surgery involves meticulous dissection around important neurovascular structures. Most anatomical guides describing the soft tissue of the head and neck are presented in a 2D format, which limits the appreciation for the interrelation of these crucial structures. Utilizing fresh cadaver dissections to preserve normal anatomical planes, we present this 3D atlas to aid the learner in understanding the depth of important landmarks when proceeding through common head and neck surgeries.

This guide can be used as a dissection manual when working in the anatomy lab on a cadaver, or as an aid when studying for a surgical procedure. We hope it can be an adjunct to other dissection manuals, texts, surgical videos, and podcasts to round out an education on head and neck anatomy. We seek to provide this atlas in the manner of a stepwise approach through standard procedures. This atlas is useful in visually walking you through the surgeries, with a 3D view of important structures as they appear during the procedures.  While nothing can compare to dissections in a real specimen or performing surgery in the operating room on living tissue in a real patient, we hope this atlas will prove to be an invaluable tool for the training Otolaryngologist.