From Anatomical to Digital Dissection: A Historical Perspective Since Antiquity Towards the Twenty-First Century

As the oldest medical craft, anatomy remains the core and foundational field of medicine. That is why anatomy is in perpetual advancement, thanks to the technical progress in exploring the human body through computer science and biomedical research. Knowledge of the human body is the basis of medicine. Classical cadaver dissection, the standard discovery tool for centuries, is both unique and destructive of the surrounding tissues. For many years, anatomists have sought to preserve the shape of dissected organs for reference, teaching, and further inspection through different methods. Wax models make a copy of selected dissections. Vessel or duct injection with resin is another dissection-preserving technique. However, all these anatomical objects are unique in time and frozen in place. In contrast, modern Digital Anatomy aims to preserve structures from dissection in flexible ways. Then deliver the results quickly, flexibly, reproducibly, and interactively via advanced digital tools. Thus, computer-aided anatomical dissection addresses the limitations of classical dissection. Through it, experienced anatomists recognize the structures previously segmented with dedicated software to create accurate 3D models from macro or microscopic slices. Its interactivity, flexibility, and endless reusability make digital dissection a perfect tool for educational anatomy. This chapter explores the history of anatomical studies from their inception to the twenty-first century related to the remainder of the book.