Precision in radiology is incredibly important.  We’re often the ‘final diagnosis’ for patients, so the more specific we can be, the better it is for patient care.

And the body is a big place.  Every structure in the body has a name and rather than just saying ‘the back muscles’, it’s better for everyone if we can say ‘Iliocostalis lumborum’.  But some rare parts of human anatomy we might use once a year, and it’s best if we check our answers.

And there are a lot of cross-sectional anatomy web sites out there.  Some are free and some are commercial, but one free tool I have found super-helpful is the Radiology Anatomy Atlas Viewer.  It’s free software for Macintosh and Windows computers that you can download and install on your computer.  It shows cross-sectional anatomy of various body parts, all labeled so that you can find the name of that structure before you commit to it in your report.  A screenshot from the software is below:

Radiology Anatomy Atlas Viewer

At least a couple of times a week I find myself using it to look up anatomical structures that I can’t figure out the name (or just can’t remember), in hopes that my reports will be better and more specific and somehow this will help the surgeon or clinician and ultimately, the patient.

The software is free and can be freely distributed for non-commercial purposes.  I hope you find it as helpful as I do!