Anatomy based research in neurosurgery

The Anatomy Based Research in Neurosurgery is an important part of Applied Neuroanatomy that mainly concerns neurosurgical procedures and related problems, namely neuroimaging, brain mapping and surgical techniques. This includes a wide variety of research fields such as 2-D and 3-D structure visualization and referencing (stereotaxy), intraoperative imaging cartography and targeting (neuronavigation), as well as microsurgical, functional and endoscopic anatomy. The methods involved in this investigation regard predominantly microsurgical proceedings and morphological variability studies, both on living or post-mortem material (the strict neuroimaging techniques remaining a main tool for radiologists). The present paper provides an overview of the main techniques of neuroanatomical research applied to neurosurgery. Their major indications and requirements are described and discussed. Special attention is paid to some anatomical techniques such as microdissection and serial sectioning as well as 2-D and 3-D image procedures that are explained in detail.