A virtual laboratory for temporal bone microanatomy

Located in the lateral cranial base, the temporal bone is one of the human body´s most complicated parts. It contains many tiny, delicate, and detailed anatomical structures, including many irregular orifices, antra (cavities), canals, and fissures. Crucial nerves, blood vessels, and auditory and vestibular organs coexist in this dense bone structure in a complex 3D configuration, causing medical science to once regard the temporal bone as a surgically forbidden area. Today, otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) surgeons still find it difficult to envision and master these complex anatomic interrelationships. Here, we present a new method for generating and reconstructing 3D temporal bone models and their applications in stereoscopic virtual environments. Our virtual laboratory and its associated software can run on ordinary PCs.