Stereoscopic Tridimensional Images of the Anatomy of the Temporal Bone: Acquisition and Demonstration

The anatomy of the human temporal bone is considered to be among the most complex structures in the body. Critical nervous, vascular and other structures are closely related to each other, often by only a few millimeters. Long training periods, exhaustive temporal bone dissection and surgical observation have traditionally formed the basis for education. Residents, at some stage during their education, have some difficulties in understanding the anatomy when shown only through theoretical bidimensional anatomy lectures. Tridimensional stereoscopic images may allow a better understanding of the important relationships among the structures within the temporal bone. Objective: The objectives of this study were: 1) to demonstrate stereoscopic tridimensional images of the human temporal bone; 2) to demonstrate how to acquire and generate these tridimensional images with simple pieces of equipment such as digital photographic camera and freeware software, discussing the technical difficulties in the acquisition and edition of these images. Method: Fourteen temporal bones were dissected in the Anatomical Laboratory of Professor Edmundo Vasconcelos Hospital, Sao Paulo-Brazil. Four were selected in order to obtain photographic examples of surgical landmarks. Results: We created good quality stereoscopic tridimensional images of the anatomy of the human temporal bone. Conclusion: The tridimensional stereoscopic images were acquired with low cost equipment, without great difficulty and its use can improve the anatomical knowledge of ENT residents in otologic surgery.