Modern Capabilities of in vivo Positional Topographic Human Anatomy

Traditionally, human anatomy studies the form and structure of the body in the standard anatomical position, which may not be physiologically relevant and does not meet the practical needs of medical specialists. This article presents a new approach to the in vivo study of positional topographic human anatomy, which takes into account changes in the position of anatomical structures depending on body posture. This approach is based on the foundational work of Leonardo da Vinci and prominent Russian scientists (N.A. Bernstein), who studied human movement from anatomical and biomechanical perspectives. Modern imaging methods, such as multislice computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, make it possible to visualize anatomical structures in living subjects in various body positions, providing objective data for understanding three-dimensional anatomy and planning various stages of surgical interventions, especially minimally invasive ones. Studies of the upper limb and neck demonstrate the relevance of further development of in vivo positional topographic anatomy. Understanding the mechanisms and identifying patterns of displacement of anatomical structures with changes in body position allow for optimization of surgical manipulations, minimization of the risks of iatrogenesis, and ultimately improvement of patient outcomes. In particular, the combination of virtual surgical planning with three-dimensional models and augmented reality technologies for visualizing the deep compartments of the neck opens up fundamentally new possibilities for minimally invasive surgery and oncological surgery in the head and neck region. Preliminary studies indicate significant differences between morphological data obtained in the standard anatomical position and in various physiological positions of body parts. Thus, in vivo positional topographic anatomy, which has gained new momentum thanks to modern methods of in vivo visualization of anatomical structures, appears to be a fundamentally new and practically important direction in the study of human anatomy, one that will help solve a wide range of applied medical problems in the near future.

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