Canonical form as a model for surgical illustration

Surgical illustration follows a wide variety of styles, ranging from photorealism to schematic diagrams. The most widely used approach to surgical illustration relies heavily on realism, despite some studies showing that realism can have a detrimental effect on learning. A current trend towards simplifying surgical art offers the advantage of lowering production time and reproduction costs. This article provides a rationale for this trend by defining a specific model for surgical illustration based on canonical form.