Thin sectional anatomy, three-dimensional reconstruction and visualization of the heart from the Chinese Visible Human

The research aimed to provide sectional anatomic and three-dimensional (3D) virtual anatomic bases for imaging diagnosis and surgical operation by the use of data from the heart of the first Chinese digitized Visible Human. Data from the series of thin sections of the heart were analyzed and input into an SGI workstation, and 3D reconstruction and virtualization of the heart were performed. Each image of sectional anatomy was clear and the 3D structures of the heart were reconstructed in their entirety. All reconstructed structures can be displayed by multiple structural and color modes, individually or jointly, and can be rotated continuously in any plane. The model of the virtual heart clearly showed fine structures of the heart in random orientation. The dataset of the sectional anatomy provides a fine and integrated morphologic base for imaging diagnosis. The 3D reconstructed images clearly show the internal and entire structures of the heart.