Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy: Review

Pros

• Explanations - The minute you start flipping through ‘Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy 16th Edition’, you realize that it’s not an ordinary atlas. It’s full of illustrations that twist and turn every anatomical structure known to mankind in various directions and they all contain legends indeed. However, the cherry on top is provided by explanatory paragraphs that flesh out many structures even more. For example, there is a huge difference between simply showing the articulations of the hand and including some sentences describing the types of joints, their movement capabilities, and range of movements in addition to the legends. It certainly adds more context to the hand, making it far more attractive than just a pile of meat and bones. You also don’t want your anatomy knowledge to feel like that, right?

• Clinical boxes - The above explanations give you book smarts, while real-life experience give you street smarts. However, in the health science industry the leap between the two is wider than the Grand Canyon, so you need a bridge. This atlas has a solution in the form of clinical information. They are nowhere near the breadth and depth of the explanations, but they are sufficient to add the much needed spice to an otherwise dry subject. Titled ‘Clinical remarks’, they discuss topics ranging from infections, to degenerative conditions and interventional procedures, to anything in between.
• Tables - They are probably the most exploited feature by atlas editors, and Sobotta is no different. Tables are a lifeline for anatomy students because they are short, to the point, and contain high yield information - no ‘ifs’, ‘buts’, or ‘whys’. For example, they might list all the branches of nerves or arteries, or the attachment points of muscles together with their innervation and actions. Professors love testing your knowledge about such aspects, so pay particular attention to these tables during your review sessions.

• Chapter introductions - Another distinction feature of this atlas is provided by the chapter introductions. They are divided into three components: a chapter overview, main objectives, and a clinical case that underlines the relevance of the upcoming chapter. Two of these features are beneficial, but they are not uncommon. However, the objectives presented in bullet point format are the money makers. They can be excellent essays or short question topics to test your knowledge and help you review. Also, sentences like ‘describe the basic structure of the skull, its bones and their positional relationship to each other’ definitely sounds like a question that can crop up in any of your exams about the head and neck. If you can answer all of the ones included in the chapter introductions, you are definitely on your way to anatomy mastery.

• Sobotta Anatomy App and freebies - Last but not least, ‘Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy’ comes equipped with accompanying resources. Some of them are free of additional charges following the purchase, such as labelling quizzes together with dissection figures that can show how to access that pesky brachial plexus that you’ve been searching for on the cadaver for the past hour. The app itself comes at an additional price and includes labelling tests, provides you with notes about the structures, and can teach you about certain body parts in a logical way using its ‘Training’ tool. Not to mention that all the illustrations from the atlas are present in there and many more, as well as three language choices: English, Latin, and German. Let’s just say the app will not revolutionize anatomy learning any time soon, but it can prove a nice little addition.

Cons

• Three volumes - Atlases of hundreds of pages spanning one volume are already daunting, but one that comes as three volumes spread throughout 1300 pages or so is downright petrifying! To put it into perspective, an anatomy textbook consists of over 1000 pages and we all know how wordy they can be. Including more information and dividing it into three large books that are easier to carry sounds like a good plan, right? Wrong! It might work for your first month or region, but anatomy courses take a minimum of one year to complete. By the way, we didn’t even mention the surgery modules during the clinical years which require even more anatomy refreshing. Once revision kicks in after the first few months and professors will begin to link information from different parts of the course, you will end up carrying three books with you and require an entire room just to spread out all your resources. You will end up in a similar situation if your school teaches anatomy according to systems rather than regions. It certainly doesn’t sound appealing…

• Expensive - This aspect can be quite subjective, but a payment of $125 USD upfront is not petty cash that every student can dish out at a moment’s notice. In addition, another $70 USD for an application that leaves a lot to be desired might also raise some suspicious eyebrows. It might include over 1600 illustrations, but the ones in the atlas can be accessed for free online with the book purchase. In all honesty, the price range is not sufficiently justified by the app’s resources. What about the labelling quizzes? Those can easily be replaced by using your hand to physically cover the labels in the atlas and reciting or writing down the names before finally correcting them. Or indeed, by using the free anatomy labelling quizzes from Kenhub! It’s much faster, doesn’t need another gadget, and is completely free of charge!  
• Inconsistencies and resource scarcity - The true power of a learning resource stands in its consistency between versions and editions, as well as across various platforms. Remember that we’ve previously mentioned explanations as advantages of this atlas. They are indeed, but not all of illustrations contain them. In fact, some contain barely any while others have none at all. They are even scarcer in the application, raising another red flag about its usefulness. In addition, there are scant imaging illustrations like X-rays and CTs that a lot of other atlases nowadays have embraced and included almost to the point of exaggeration. 
• Latin language - Do you know what’s drier than your humerus bone? Learning anatomy. Unfortunately, it is even more challenging when language is inconsistent and illogically used. No-one is criticizing the use of Latin, it is an extremely useful language to learn anatomy in, but only with accompanying English terms provided side-by-side. Every single term in Sobotta's atlas is provided in Latin, while the explanations and descriptions are in English. Unfortunately, a lot of students learning anatomy in English must learn the terms in the same language as well, so studying them in Latin only creates confusion. It might not sound like a big deal, but anatomy is already a handful to deal with without having to worry about translating it, too.

Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy vs. Kenhub

Therefore, is this atlas good enough to occupy a spot in your library? It depends on your aims and your study methods. It is definitely not a run of the mill resource, scoring some brownie points with the explanations, chapter introductions, and tables. However, it also has some drawbacks such as an exaggerated length, price, scarce resources, and above all, a heavy focus on Latin terms while being aimed at an English market.

So, what can you do? Before deciding and creating a hole in your pocket, search around for different resources. An example would be Kenhub, a constantly growing online learning platform that has helped a million users so far to tackle anatomy in the simplest way possible. Here’s a direct comparison between the two resources:

As you can see, no matter how you slice it, Kenhub always has your back. By the way, there is no backache involved because the information is not spread over thick volumes of endless pages. In fact, it is the opposite - everything fits in the palm of your hand on any of your electronic devices. And everything automatically adapts to the display format, so you won’t distinguish any differences when changing from your phone to your laptop, or vice versa. It works like magic!

We at Kenhub understand that learning anatomy can be as dry as a bone. Although we cannot dispel all your difficulties (it is anatomy after all), our anatomy geeks can certainly simplify this subject and who knows, maybe even inject some joy into it! If you are drowning in a sea of anatomical information, you can take a look at the learning strategy section and pick up some tricks of the trade that can help you stay afloat. Also, remember that variety is the spice of life (and the sanity when learning anatomy). How can you incorporate it in your studies? By changing your learning methods every once in a while - according to your preferences, of course! 

Once you get tired of reading an article about a certain topic and your gluteus maximus is numb, you can play the corresponding topic video and change your environment. For example, you can sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee while simultaneously learning. Does your brain start to feel foggy and groggy after a couple of hours doing that? Pick up your phone, go to a nearby park and start walking around while doing a quiz that tests your newly acquired knowledge. You can custom build it according to your desires and there is a wide variety, from MCQs to fill-in-the blanks. We also have an atlas waiting at your disposal, so what are you debating about? Go ahead, register for free and see for yourself!

However, it all comes down to you. There is no perfect resource that can suit every single need or satisfy every anatomy student on this planet. Kenhub is constantly improving its scope and quality of content, and there’s still several features we’re working on bringing you to make your learning even easier.  Until we reach perfection, we firmly believe it can still make your life a little bit easier and your frustrations less frequent. As you’ve seen, atlases also have their problems so weigh the pros and cons extremely carefully before diving into any resource. We hope this article has clarified some of your questions about ‘Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy 16th Edition’. Good luck, and happy studying!