How a Russian surgeon turned frozen bodies into the first 3D human atlas Natalya Kochetkova Sep 07 2026 History

https://www.gw2ru.com/history/255790-how-a-russian-surgeon-turned-frozen-bodies-into-the-first-3d-atlas-of-the-human-body A carpenter's saw and freezing temperatures were a century ahead of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the mid-19th century, all anatomical textbooks were based on autopsies of fresh cadavers. But, as soon as a surgeon opened the chest or abdominal cavity, the organs shifted, losing their true outlines. Outstanding Russian surgeon Nikolai Pirogov understood that such illustrations were misleading students. This prompted him to seek a fundamentally different way to document anatomy.