This is the second edition of Thieme’s popular head, neck and neuroanatomy atlas. There are 22 chapters on 530+ pages, with over 1300 full colour illustrations covering the full breadth of head, neck and neuroanatomy.
It retails at £62.50 for the paperback version, measuring 31 x 23 x 2.5cm, and weighs in at 2 kilograms, so loses out as a pocket or portable atlas. However, its size allows for complex anatomical knowledge to be imparted via large scale illustrations, permitting easy to read, uncluttered, labelling. There is also an online learning tool, though registration is required using a code from the book, allowing access to over 500 full-colour illustrations and radiographs. The online resource is great for exam preparation, or as an anatomy refresher, with its labels-on and labels-off function.
The book flows very well, with an initial short overview for the head and neck section which includes; bony landmarks, head and neck cervical fascia, clinical anatomy and embryology of the face and neck. It is then neatly organised into chapters on bones, ligaments and joints (including an excellent section on dental and maxillofacial anatomy), muscles, neurovascular structures, all the head and neck organs, topographical anatomy, and sectional anatomy. The neuroanatomy chapters are also very comprehensive. Illustrations on each page have concise accompanying text which also includes comments on clinical importance where necessary. The clinical relevance could be more expansive, for example in the section on head and neck cervical fascia, but I can understand why the authors may have limited this across what is already a reasonably large book.
Overall, this is an excellent book, with over 200 additional anatomic illustrations compared to the previous edition, laid out in an easy to read manner. It would be of interest to medical students, allied healthcare professionals looking for more in-depth anatomical knowledge, trainees and consultants in the fields of ENT, maxillofacial, plastics, neurosurgery and radiology.
