Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation
Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
The University of Iowa
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Contributing Computer and Graphics Specialists:
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed
"Variability is the law of life," Sir William Osler.
"The human features and countenance, although composed of some ten parts
or a little more, are so fashioned that among so many thousands of men there
are no two in existence who cannot be distinguished from one another. Book 7,
It is important to understand that no two living organisms are structurally or functionally identical - animals or plants!
It is clear that textbook writers and teachers over the centuries, even until today, fail to understand or to transmit to their students the crucial concept that anatomical and physiological diversity and variation is a canon of living organisms. This failure leads to the belief that textbooks are conveying immutable facts with only few anomalous exceptions.
Muscular System, Opus I
Cardiovascular System, Opus II
Nervous System, Opus III
Endocrine, Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary and Respiratory Systems, Opus IV
Skeletal System, Opus V
Anatomy Atlases is curated by Michael P. D'Alessandro, M.D. and Ronald A. Bergman, Ph.D.
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