Japanese Neurosurgeons and Microsurgical Anatomy: A Historical Review

Abstract

Research in microneurosurgical anatomy has contributed to great advances in neurosurgery in the last 40 years. Many Japanese neurosurgeons have traveled abroad to study microsurgical anatomy and played major roles in advancing and spreading the knowledge of anatomy, overcoming their disadvantage that the cadaver study has been strictly limited inside Japan. In Japan, they initiated an educational system for surgical anatomy that has contributed to the development and standardization of Japanese neurosurgery. For example, the Japanese Society for Microsurgical Anatomy started an annual educational meeting in the middle of 1980s and published its proceedings in Japanese every year for approximately 20 years. These are some of the achievements that bring worldwide credit to Japanese neurosurgeons. Not only should Japanese neurosurgeons improve their educational system but they should also contribute to the international education in this field, particularly in Asia.

Albert L. Rhoton Jr., MD: His Philosophy and Education of Neurosurgeons

“…After returning to their homes, many of them established annual meetings or seminars in microneurosurgical anatomy, established microneurosurgical laboratories offering dissection courses, and/or translated the English textbook “RHOTON” into languages such as Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese. 8 , 18 , 29 – 32) All have contributed in their own ways, to enhancing the understanding of neuroanatomy after they returned to their own countries.…”

“…This meeting was established and organized by the Japanese Society for Microsurgical Anatomy, and the 31st meeting was held last year. 18 , 30) The proceedings of these seminars, published in Japanese every year, have been widely read, especially during the period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. About 3,000 copies of the proceedings were sold every year at a time when the number of Japanese board-certified neurosurgeons was between 3,000 and 4,000.…”

“…Among his many educational achievements are his numerous publications, including the textbook “RHOTON: Cranial Anatomy and Surgical Approaches” and the Rhoton Collection, along with many dissection courses for training neurosurgeons as well as 3-dimensional (3D) lecture presentations. 9 , 11 , 12 , 18 – 23) He accepted research fellows from all over the world to assist in his research and to educate them so that the knowledge and techniques of microneurosurgical anatomy and microsurgery would follow them back to their countries. 8) …”