Scientific Direction of the Institute
Prof. Ferdinando Paternostro
Anatomist
The scientific committeeInstitute
Human Anatomy as a Discipline of Scientific Research
Not only of teaching.
Research in human anatomy carried out by the Anatomicus faculty under the scientific direction of Prof. Ferdinando Paternostro: lines of investigation, method and transfer to teaching.
Introduction
A Discipline under Revision, not Settled Knowledge
There is a widespread, and essentially mistaken, belief that human anatomy is a closed body of knowledge: a descriptive science that has exhausted its subject and whose only task today is to pass on what has already been established.
In recent years human anatomy has gone through a phase of substantial revision. Each of these lines has changed not only the description, but also the clinical implications that follow from it:
- The redefinition of the fascial system as a structural and functional continuum
- Deeper study of the innervation of connective tissues
- A new reading of topographic relations in the light of minimally invasive surgical techniques
- The systematic correlation between dissection findings and high-resolution imaging
An institute that trains professionals in anatomy without taking part in the research that redefines it is bound to pass on, a few years late, what others have discovered. The Institute has chosen the opposite position.
Dissection finding on a specimen.
Leadership
From Research to Teaching, under a Single Direction
The scientific direction of the Institute is entrusted to Prof. Ferdinando Paternostro, anatomist, whose academic and research work is the methodological reference for the entire faculty.
- Definition of research lines and prior validation of experimental protocols
- Supervision of the work carried out on the anatomical specimen
- Quality control of teaching content and of the relationship between evidence and teaching
- Chairing the scientific committee that validates programmes and investigations
No training programme is made available, and no investigation is started, without validation by the scientific direction and the committee it chairs. This architecture meets a precise need: ensuring that the distance between what the faculty studies and what the faculty teaches is as short as possible, and always traceable.
Investigations
Six Lines of Research
The Institute's research develops along lines selected on the basis of two joint criteria:
- Clinical relevance of the question
- Accessibility to investigation on the specimen
Anatomy of the Fascial System
The study of fascial continuity, of the relations between fascia and neurovascular structures, of the mechanical behaviour of gliding planes and of the implications for rehabilitation, manual and surgical practice. This is the line in which the fresh-frozen specimen offers the clearest methodological advantage, since traditional fixation alters precisely the properties under study.
Topographic Anatomy Applied to Surgical Approaches
The systematic analysis of the relations that govern surgical approaches, with particular attention to the variable course of structures at risk, the definition of safety corridors and the dissection-based verification of the implicit assumptions of established techniques.
Anatomical Variability
The orderly documentation of the variants observed during dissection, to give variants the status of frequency data rather than morphological curiosity.
Anatomo-Radiological Correlation
The direct comparison between dissection findings and imaging of the same region, as a way of checking radiological interpretation and refining three-dimensional reading.
Functional Anatomy and Biomechanics
The study of the behaviour of structures under load and in motion, carried out on a substrate that preserves their mechanical properties, as a verified foundation for rehabilitation reasoning and athletic training.
Anatomical Methodology and Teaching
The study of the conditions that make procedural learning effective: dissection sequences, correction methods, retention of competence over time. The Institute considers its own method an object of study, not an assumption.
Research lines / Collaborations
Working on one of these topics? Propose a protocol to the scientific direction.
Method
Requirements Adopted in Full
Research carried out on anatomical specimens is bound by requirements that the Institute adopts in full.
Question and Protocol
Every investigation starts from a question formulated in advance, a written and validated protocol and observation criteria defined before access to the specimen.
Systematic Documentation
Findings are recorded using international nomenclature and made comparable. The specimen is never used for exploratory activity without a declared purpose.
Fresh-Frozen Substrate
In research, fresh-frozen is a condition for the validity of the data: mechanical properties, the gliding of the planes and the behaviour of connective tissues are exactly what traditional fixation compromises.
External Verification
Results are intended for publication and discussion in the proper forums of the scientific community. The Institute does not consider a result scientific unless it has been externally verified.
Education
Research and Training: a Single Cycle
At Anatomicus, research and training are not two parallel activities sharing a structure. They are a single cycle.
And the cycle starts again: research returns to teaching.
A professional who takes part in an Institute programme does not receive a popular summary of the literature: they work alongside those who help produce that literature.
«A laboratory sized for mass observation does not produce research; it produces demonstrations.»
Research dissection activity
Generates documentation, sequences and findings.
Training programmes
Documentation and findings feed the training paths.
Questions from the table
A participant's question, a variant encountered, an inconsistency between atlas and finding.
New lines of investigation
Questions become material for new lines of research.
Research that becomes teaching
The results of the research lines feed back into training paths and publications.
Publishing
Publishing as Part of the Method
The outcome of scientific activity is expressed not only in periodical publications but also in structured publishing output.
Dissection documentation is by its nature unrepeatable: the finding observed in one session will not be observable in any other, and its orderly preservation is in itself a contribution to the discipline. In this sense the Institute's publishing is part of the research method, not an accessory consequence of it.
Monographs
Texts born from research and real dissection.
Photographic atlases from specimens
The orderly documentation of dissection findings.
Video-anatomical documentation
High-definition videos recorded during the sessions.
Collaborations
Protocols Proposed by External Groups
The Institute works with Italian and international universities, scientific societies and research centres, and makes its facilities available for experimental protocols proposed by external groups, subject to validation by the scientific direction and in full compliance with the applicable ethical and regulatory constraints.
Institutions and Scientific Societies
Liaison with Italian and international universities, scientific societies and research centres.
Facilities for External Protocols
The Institute's facilities are available for experimental protocols proposed by external groups, subject to validation by the scientific direction.
Researchers, PhD Students and Lecturers
Anyone interested in proposing a protocol or discussing a collaboration can contact the scientific direction directly.
Collaborations / Scientific direction
Propose a protocol or discuss a collaboration with the scientific direction.
Ethics
Prior and Superior Constraints
All of the Institute's research is carried out on specimens whose scientific use corresponds to the wish expressed by the donor during their lifetime. This is not an administrative prerequisite but the very foundation of the legitimacy of the investigation.
The Institute considers these constraints prior and superior to any scientific objective. No result justifies an exception.
«Anatomical research does not describe a closed subject. Each time, it reopens its definition.»
- Exclusively scientific and teaching purpose of every session
- Absolute confidentiality and inviolable anonymity
- Ban on any unauthorised disclosure of images and materials
- Certified provenance, documentary traceability and full regulatory compliance
- Dignity of the specimen at every stage of the activity — in language, in conduct and in managing the field
Contacts
Propose a Scientific Collaboration.
Researchers, PhD students and university lecturers can contact the Institute's scientific direction: fill in the form and we will get back to you within 24 working hours.
Information Request
Anatomicus Training
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Information Request
Anatomicus Training
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- Reply within 24 hours
Working hours, from the Anatomicus team
- Limited-places event
Limited places for every edition
- Real human anatomical specimen
In the dissection room
Contact
Prefer to Talk to Us Directly?
Call us, write to us on WhatsApp or by email: the Anatomicus team replies within 24 working hours.