Ethical considerations in the use of Pernkopf's Atlas of Anatomy: A surgical case study

From scientific exploitation to individual memorialization: Evolving attitudes towards research on Nazi victims’ bodies

“…69 Recently, the debate around the Pernkopf atlas has been revived by authors who assert that the Pernkopf atlas continues to be indispensable, especially for some neurosurgical operations, and argue for the need for a system of ethically controlled access. 70 The issue has also been treated from a rabbinical perspective in the so-called Vienna Protocol, which stipulates that according to Jewish law, the use of unethically obtained medical knowledge is permissible (or even necessary), if a human life is at stake. 71 The author has since clarified that this principle needs to be carefully balanced on a caseby-case basis against the countervailing principles of respect for the dead, the interdiction to derive profit from the dead, and others.…”

When medical information comes from Nazi atrocities

“…Based on the authority of the Vienna Protocol , we published a clinical case study that lays the historical and ethical framework for questions concerning the use of the atlas in the management of anatomically complex and difficult surgical cases, with special attention to implications for medical ethics drawn from Jewish law 14…”

“…Our case study presents a four step framework of applied ethics to consider the use of the atlas when it could significantly help surgeons in the care of their patients 14. When encountering operative difficulty, surgeons should firstly recognize a need to take a timeout and reassess planning.…”

Supraclavicular Approach to the Brachial Plexus: How I Teach It

“…uses Pernkopf's Atlas of Topographic and Applied Human Anatomy, Vol. 2, under specific ethical conditions, for its illustrative accuracy of peripheral nerve anatomy and its relationship to important adjacent structures through multiple layer dissections [3,4]. For conditions that permit its use, this provides an opportunity to integrate ethics into training by initiating a discussion focused on whether those in the operating room are "comfortable" with its use to help the patient after disclosing its unethical origins.…”