About OpenDissect

Who makes OpenDissect, how its anatomy, fracture and lesson content is written and checked, how it is funded and how to contact us.

Who we are

OpenDissect is a free 3D anatomy atlas, fracture guide and surgical learning tool that runs in the web browser. It is made by Albert Favà, MD, a resident in general surgery and trauma surgery in Switzerland.

The idea came from daily work in the operating room and the emergency department: textbooks show anatomy flat, while surgery happens in three dimensions, layer by layer. OpenDissect lets students, residents and doctors peel the body from skin to bone, see how a fracture looks in 3D next to its X-ray and CT, and follow an operation step by step.

What you will find

A 3D atlas of thousands of structures (bones, muscles, nerves, arteries, veins and organs); a fracture guide with classification, imaging and treatment for each injury; guided lessons that explain why a structure matters to a surgeon, each ending with a short quiz; and explanations for patients in plain words that a doctor can show at the bedside.

Everything is available in English, Spanish, German, French and Italian.

How the content is made

The 3D anatomy is derived from Z-Anatomy and BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA), adapted for teaching. The fracture pages follow the AO/OTA classification and common European and North American treatment practice; the lessons follow the anatomy taught in medical school and in surgical training.

AI tools help us draft texts, translate them and build the 3D scenes. Every page is then read and corrected by the author, a physician in surgical training, before it is published, and pages are updated when readers report an error. Each article states that it is for education only.

What OpenDissect is not

OpenDissect is a learning resource. It does not give personal medical advice and does not replace an examination by a doctor or supervised surgical training. If you have an injury or symptoms, please see a doctor or, in an emergency, call your local emergency number.

How it is funded

The atlas, the fracture guide, the lessons and the patient explanations are free. To keep them free, some text pages show advertising from Google AdSense; the 3D app itself shows no ads, so they never cover the model. An optional Pro plan adds extra features for those who want to support the project. Advertisers have no influence on the content.

Contact

Corrections, ideas and questions are welcome: write to [email protected] or use "Send feedback" in the app. Legal details are in the imprint.

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