Rohen/Yokochi. Colour Atlas of Anatomy

[Guest Ian Wong]

Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body, 3rd Ed. Rohen, J. W., Yokochi, C. 1993. Igaku-shoin Medical Publishers, Inc. New York.

 

ISBN: 0-89640-228-2 (New York)

ISBN: 4-260-14228-3 (Tokyo)

Chapters/Indigo.ca price: $88.95

Pages: 484

 

Along with Netter's, Rohen/Yokochi is the other gross anatomy atlas which I frequently use. In fact, this year, I used this textbook even more than Netter's. My personal opinion is that this book, which significantly pre-dates Netter's, is the perfect complement to Netter's rather than a direct competitor. In fact, it would be a great idea to own both Netter's and Rohen/Yokochi because they both have done so well at what they are trying to achieve.

 

Rohen/Yokochi uses extremely high-quality anatomical dissections, which are then very clearly photographed and labelled. Particularly good in my opinion is the osteology section, where each bone has been photographed from a variety of angles. As Netter's strength is its easy viewing via idealized hand-drawings, conversely Rohen/Yokochi's strength is the complete and utter realism of its dissections.

 

Allowing for the normal variation of cadavers, you will soon discover that the tendon of plantaris muscle is in exactly the same position on your cadaver as it is on the atlas. You won't be left wondering whether Frank Netter got the exact placement of the maxillary artery just right when he was drawing it because the Rohen/Yokochi staff have dissected it and exposed it, likely using a similar approach as your own cadaver.

 

If your program tests you on direct examination of cadavers and prosections (ie. Bell-ringer exams where you move through a circuit of your gross anatomy lab, and are asked to identify structures at each station) then while Netter's will be give you a better conceptual understanding of the structures, I think Rohen/Yokochi will ultimately prepare you better for your examination.

 

As one of my classmates raved: "It's like studying your gross anatomy cadaver without actually having to be there, and the structures all come pre-labelled!" Of course, the dissections in Rohen/Yokochi are much cleaner than what you and your classmates will be able to obtain. However, once you are past the skin, and into the deeper muscular structures, you'll be surprised at just how similar the photographs can be to your actual dissection.

 

A couple down-sides to the atlas can also be attributed to its major strength, that being the realism of its photos. The first is that once an area gets anatomically complex (eg. head and neck dissections, or nerve plexi, such as the lumbo-sacral plexus), the realism and detail of Rohen/Yokochi can often become a hinderance as there is so much visual competition and noise from the other vessels and structures that it becomes hard to find what you are looking for. Also, colour photographs by definition will be more difficult than hand-drawn images for tracing vessels, and determining whether a given vessel is venous or arterial, although in some of the photos, red and blue dye has been injected into the vessels to help differentiate them.

 

I think this book is an absolutely wonderful reference and is a must-have purchase if your curriculum has bell-ringer exams. This book is a perfect complement to Netter's, and like Netter's is an easy sell back to incoming med students once you are finished with it. In fact, I like, and use this book much more than Netter's because I prefer the photos to hand-drawings. Either way, one book really can't replace the other, which is why you should purchase them both!