Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anatomie

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are two of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States and worldwide. 1 Because of the risk of removing healthy tissue, tonsil surgery has traditionally been limited to partial excision. Celsus is credited with performing the first complete tonsillectomy in the first century AD. 3 As the procedure's popularity grew, partial excision was considered the safest and best method for excision. Superior lighting, the ability to control hemostasis, and anaesthetic techniques made complete excision possible by the nineteenth century.

It has taken centuries to piece together the gross anatomy of the heart. From Hippocrates to Galen to Leonardo da Vinci, great anatomists, philosophers, and even artists have all contributed to unravelling the mystery that was once the heart's structure. Ancient minds fought against religious and cultural constraints to provide us with the foundation for our sciences, particularly medicine.Despite advances in understanding the anatomy of the heart, recent anatomists have made new discoveries. This manuscript examines the evolution of cardiac anatomy from its inception to its current state of refinement.