Surgical Anatomy

Abstract

Being a focal facial feature, the nose inspired several quaint notions, it was even considered to be an exit for bad spirits from the body! The foundation for a scientific assessment of this organ was laid down by Emil Zuckerkandl of Austria who, not without a pinch of humour, in his treatise quips “you have to suffer and tolerate a lot on this earth, even if you are only a pneumatised cavity!”. In 1882 his first book, a comparative anatomy, was published, and his illustrations were so accurate that they spawned interest all over the globe. He is credited with having given rhinology the pride of place it deserves. Along the road of discovery one finds monuments to masters such as Grunwald, Onodi and Hajek. Hand in hand with these advances came innovations in histology, local anaesthesia and radiology, leading to a burst of anatomical information, reflected today in our current state-of-the-art environment of multi-angled endoscopes, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and even three-dimensional scanning.