Book Review

McMinn's Interactive Clinical Anatomy

Imaging Atlas of Human Anatomy

Anatomy of Nerves and Muscles

N Engl J Med 1997; 337:286-287July 24, 1997

Article

McMinn's Interactive Clinical Anatomy
CD-ROM. By Peter H. Abrahams. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer, with 8 MB RAM. St. Louis, Mosby, 1997. $59.95 (MAC or Windows). ISBN: 0-7234-2253-2 (MAC); 0-7234-2186-2 (Windows).

Imaging Atlas of Human Anatomy
CD-ROM (Version 2.0). By Jamie Weir and Peter H. Abrahams. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer, with at least 8 MB RAM. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher, with at least 4 MB RAM.) St. Louis, Mosby, 1997. $59.95. ISBN: 0-7234-2631-7

Anatomy of Nerves and Muscles
CD-ROM. By Jean-Marie Peyronnard and Louise Charron. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer, with at least 16 MB RAM. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher, with at least 16 MB RAM.) Montreal, SSB Multimedia, 1996. $225. No ISBN.

Students of anatomy will enjoy McMinn's Interactive Clinical Anatomy. This software transforms McMinn's color Atlas of Human Anatomy into a CD-ROM with added features. The illustrations are taken from the dissection of a human body in the anatomy room and are quite different from images of the living body. This is clearly an advantage for students in an anatomy course who work with cadavers. Added to this book's 200 dissections are short explanatory paragraphs that give information on the various anatomical details of the specific illustration. Whenever possible, the text becomes hypertext, and clicking on a specific illuminated concept brings up a list of all pertinent dissections, histology slides, radiographic images, and articles in which the term is mentioned. Each subject is covered by appropriate radiologic images, which are, however, quite limited in scope. The need for self-assessment is answered by a short quiz in each subject and by clinical notes and problem-solving exercises. One handicap of this software is the lack of a three-dimensional aspect of the dissections, which one should expect from a newly released CD-ROM. Operating this software efficiently takes some experience, and some “help” reading is required to take full advantage of all its features.

The Imaging Atlas of Human Anatomy is amazing. It starts with a silhouette of the human body. A click of the mouse brings the viewer to the anatomical region of interest. A list of all the available images is displayed with miniature pictures. Each anatomical area and functional system is displayed with the full range of modern imaging techniques: plain radiography, upper- and lower-gastrointestinal series, cholangiography, lymphangiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiography, cardiac ultrasonography, cardiac magnetic resonance angiography, angiography, ultrasound video sequences, and mammography. Related images can be displayed together as thumbnails for ease of comparison or enlarged to fill the screen for detailed scrutiny. With a simple click of the mouse, highlighted dots appear with easily accessible explanations (interactive labeling). A full description of each image is also available.

The software includes hundreds of detailed images and videos and is an extremely useful data bank of normal anatomy. One only hopes the same group will continue this project with images of pathologic conditions. The software is user-friendly, and the quality of the images is excellent. Highly recommended.

Anatomy of Nerves and Muscles is a detailed description of the nerves and muscles of the human body. A useful schematic map of a human body lets the user select a specific area of interest and choose anterior, posterior, or lateral views of the anatomy. The illustrations move sequentially from skin to bone, and a narrating voice points out structures that are removed or revealed. Labels of the different structures can be added or removed, and some are interactive. One can start with an anterior view of the neck, turn to the scalenus muscles, and then return to the neck dissection. A detailed text centers on a particular nerve or muscle, and animation shows the function of some muscles. There is a useful index, and search capabilities add to the utility of this software. It is quick, thorough, and very friendly.

Raphael Udassin, M.D.
Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91240, Israel