An Open-Book Approach to Pelvic Dissection for the Male Genitourinary System

Cadaveric dissections of the male pelvis are predominately conducted using either an anterior approach with the pelvis intact, or via pelvic hemi-section. The anterior approach leaves more tissue in-situ, but has limited visualization of retropubic structures, such as the prostate, seminal vesicles, vas deferens, and urethra. Hemi-section of the pelvis provides increased visualization at the expense of transecting midline structures. This article describes a novel cadaveric dissection, which offers enhanced visualization of pelvic structures in-situ. Using a posterior approach, the pelvis was dissected in an "open-book" manner, which fully exposed the posterior aspects of the prostate, seminal vesicles, ureters, and vas deferens. The delicate neurovascular bundle supplying these structures remained undisturbed. The visualization provided by this dissection correlated well with a coronal MRI of the pelvic region. This open-book dissection provides a novel posterior vantage point of the male genitourinary system, which can help medical students and residents solidify their understanding of anatomical relationships within the pelvis.