Anatomy of the Temporal Bone with Surgical Implications PDF

Preface to the Third Edition

More than 20 years have passed since the publication of the first edition and over 10 years since the publication of the second edition of Anatomy of the Temporal Bone with Surgical Implications. In that time there has been some evolution in our understanding of the normal and anomalous anatomy of the human temporal bone, most notably the recognition of the anomaly referred to as dehiscence of the superior semicircular canal. However, and more relevant to the decision to publish this third edition, are the remarkable changes in information acquisition, storage, and retrieval propelled by modern technology.

Accordingly, although there is little substantive change in the text, this edition strives to take advantage of digitization of information to make it a more useful teaching tool. In particular, the teaching slide set that was created as a companion to the first edition is included in a digital version in the accompanying CD-ROM. Similarly, the somewhat cumbersome three-dimensional reels have been supplanted by digital image pairs intended to be visualized on a monitor. With a little practice, most individuals can "see" the depth of the images.

This book has been designed as a companion volume to Pathology of the Ear, second edition (Schuknecht, 1993) and Surgery of the Ear and Temporal Bone, third edition (Nadol and McKenna, 2005).

As stated in the preface to the preceding editions of this book, the goal of the authors was to assist in the acquisition of a sophisticated, threedimensional understanding of the intricate anatomy of the human temporal bone by providing a practical compendium on basic surgical anatomy written for clinicians by clinicians. Sadly, the senior author is now deceased. Nonetheless, the goal remains the same, and I believe that were he here, Dr. Schuknecht would agree that this third edition continues to achieve our goal.