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What is Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves?
Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves – The Nerves of the Limbs, Expert Edition is a specialized anatomical atlas edited by Philippe Rigoard. Published by Springer in 2020, it focuses on peripheral nerve anatomy of the upper and lower limbs, combining morphological anatomy, functional concepts, imaging, ultrasound, pathology, interventional procedures, and surgical approaches.
Introduction
A detailed understanding of peripheral nerve anatomy is fundamental to clinical medicine, particularly for professionals involved in neurology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, pain medicine, rehabilitation, anaesthesia, and peripheral nerve surgery.
Unlike anatomy references that concentrate primarily on the brain and spinal cord, Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves – The Nerves of the Limbs, Expert Edition focuses specifically on the peripheral nerves supplying the limbs.
Edited by Philippe Rigoard, Professor of Neurosurgery at Poitiers University Hospital in France, the book was published by Springer Nature Switzerland AG in 2020.
It presents an unusually visual approach to peripheral nerve anatomy, combining anatomical drawings, computer-generated three-dimensional representations, medical imaging, ultrasound anatomy, clinical pathology, interventional procedures, and surgical anatomy.
The book is particularly relevant to medical students, residents, young doctors, anatomists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals who need to understand not only where a peripheral nerve is located, but also its relationships, branches, functions, pathological conditions, imaging appearance, and clinical or surgical relevance.
Its central concept is strongly visual. The authors describe the atlas as an attempt to help readers develop a spatial understanding of anatomy—a kind of anatomical “GPS”—rather than relying exclusively on memorization.
Book Overview
Full Book Title
Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves – The Nerves of the Limbs – Expert Edition
Editor
Philippe Rigoard, MD, PhD
The book identifies Rigoard as Professor of Neurosurgery at Poitiers University Hospital and editor of the work. Romain David and Kévin Nivole are also identified as part of the editorial, authorship, project-management, and graphic-design team, with additional clinical collaborators, co-authors, researchers, and contributors.
Publisher
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publication Year
2020
The bibliographic information identifies Springer Nature Switzerland AG as the publisher and gives the copyright year as 2020. The book is also identified as a translation of the French-language edition Atlas d’Anatomie Des Membres - Nerfs Peripheriques, originally published by Elsevier Masson in 2016.
Medical Specialty
The primary subject is peripheral nerve anatomy of the limbs, with substantial integration of functional anatomy, embryology, pathology, medical imaging, ultrasound anatomy, interventional procedures, peripheral nerve stimulation, and surgical approaches.
Intended Audience
The book is designed as a teaching and reference resource for students and professionals interested in peripheral nerve anatomy. The forewords specifically highlight medical students, trainees, neurosurgeons, and neurologists as important beneficiaries.
WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS
The scope of Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves is broad within its specific focus on limb innervation.
The book begins with morphological and functional anatomy of the peripheral nerve. This foundational section discusses the organization of a normal nerve, axons, the cytoskeleton, axonal flow, Schwann cells and myelination, mechanical properties, vascularization, the neuromuscular junction, and mechanisms of synaptic formation.
The section on the injured nerve examines the physiology and pathophysiology of nerve damage, nerve degeneration, mechanisms of neural repair, axonal sprouting, neurotrophic factors, functional regeneration, and neuroplasticity.
The book also introduces the peripheral nerve plexuses, including embryological development, segmental spinal nerves, formation of the myelin sheath, development of limb innervation, motor and cutaneous innervation, the origin and constitution of limb nerves, and the concept of a plexus.
Upper Limb Peripheral Nerves
The upper-limb section begins with the brachial plexus, including its morphology, supraclavicular and infraclavicular relationships, sonoanatomy, and interventional procedures.
Individual nerves are then explored systematically. These include:
- Axillary nerve
- Musculocutaneous nerve
- Radial nerve
- Median nerve
- Ulnar nerve
- Suprascapular nerve
- Long thoracic nerve
The nerve chapters generally follow a clinically useful sequence involving origin, anatomical course, neurovascular relationships, collateral and terminal branches, motor function, sensory function where applicable, anastomoses, pathology, ultrasound anatomy, interventional procedures, and surgical anatomy.
For example, the radial nerve section includes its origin, course, neurovascular relationships, branches, motor and sensory functions, pathology including posterior interosseous nerve syndrome, interventional procedures, and surgical approaches.
The median nerve section addresses clinically important pathology such as anterior interosseous nerve syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome, followed by ultrasound anatomy, interventions, and surgical approaches.
The ulnar nerve section similarly covers its anatomy and clinically important conditions including cubital tunnel syndrome and ulnar tunnel syndrome at Guyon’s canal, together with ultrasound, nerve blocks, peripheral nerve stimulation, and surgical procedures.
Lower Limb Peripheral Nerves
The lower-limb section begins with the lumbosacral plexus, followed by detailed treatment of the principal nerves of the lower extremity.
These include:
- Obturator nerve
- Femoral nerve
- Sciatic nerve
- Tibial nerve
- Common fibular nerve
- Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve
- Iliohypogastric nerve
- Ilioinguinal nerve
The femoral nerve chapter, for example, discusses its morphology, origin, course, neurovascular relationships, branches, motor and sensory functions, pathology, sonoanatomy, interventional procedures, peripheral nerve stimulation, and surgical procedures.
The sciatic and tibial nerve sections provide similar anatomical and clinical frameworks. The tibial nerve chapter includes conditions such as soleus syndrome and tarsal tunnel syndrome, together with ultrasound and interventional material.
The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve section includes meralgia paraesthetica, its anatomical basis, clinical features, ultrasound assessment, nerve blocks, peripheral nerve stimulation, radiofrequency procedures, and surgical decompression.
Key Features
Several features distinguish the educational approach of the book:
- Dedicated focus on peripheral nerves of the limbs
- Integration of morphological and functional anatomy
- Three-dimensional computer-generated anatomical representations
- Layered anatomical visualization
- Detailed nerve-to-muscle, vascular, and skeletal relationships
- Ultrasound/sonoanatomy sections
- Medical imaging including MRI illustrations
- Clinical pathology associated with individual nerves
- Interventional procedures
- Peripheral nerve stimulation content
- Detailed surgical approaches
- Technical pitfalls and surgical considerations
- Video material associated with numerous nerve chapters
- Embryological and developmental anatomy
- Coverage of both upper- and lower-limb peripheral nerves
The authors explain that the atlas evolved from anatomical sketches and watercolours into a three-dimensional project using computer graphics, including Blender. The resulting approach was intended to permit multiple anatomical viewpoints and layered visualization of structures.
Who Should Read This Book?
Medical Students
Medical students can use the atlas to reinforce peripheral nerve anatomy after studying conventional anatomical descriptions. Its emphasis on spatial relationships and visualization may be particularly useful when memorized anatomical lists are difficult to translate into three-dimensional understanding.
Residents
Residents in neurosurgery, neurology, anaesthesiology, orthopaedics, rehabilitation, and related specialties may find the combination of anatomy, pathology, imaging, ultrasound, and procedures particularly relevant.
The book includes contributors with backgrounds in neurosurgery, plastic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, pain medicine, critical care, anaesthesiology, and other fields, reflecting its multidisciplinary orientation.
Specialists
Practising neurologists and neurosurgeons are specifically identified in the foreword as important users of the atlas, particularly for improving familiarity with anatomical nuances relevant to clinical conditions and diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Exam Candidates
Medical students and trainees preparing for anatomy-related examinations can use the atlas as a visual revision companion. However, the book itself does not present an examination-specific preparation system, question bank, or formal board-review framework, so its value for examinations is primarily anatomical and conceptual.
Why This Book Is Useful
Clinical Relevance
One of the strongest aspects of the atlas is its progression from anatomy toward clinical application. Individual nerve chapters do not stop at morphology; they frequently proceed to pathology, exploration, treatment, ultrasound, intervention, and surgery.
This structure helps connect anatomical knowledge with clinical reasoning.
For example, the book links anatomical knowledge of the brachial plexus with ultrasound and neurostimulation procedures. It describes neurostimulation in relation to neuropathic pain and emphasizes the importance of identifying root, trunk, or fascicular territories when positioning stimulation electrodes.
Evidence-Based and Anatomically Grounded Learning
The book emphasizes anatomical facts and integrates morphological, physiological, medical, and surgical perspectives. Its second foreword describes the work as extending from anatomy and neurosurgery to medical imaging, with each nerve considered through embryology, morphology, physiology, medicine, and surgery.
Because the present review is restricted to the book itself, no independent assessment of its evidence base or subsequent literature updates is made here.
Practical Applications
The inclusion of sonoanatomy, interventional procedures, peripheral nerve stimulation, and surgical approaches makes the book more practically oriented than a purely descriptive anatomy text.
Learning Efficiency
The atlas was explicitly designed around visual learning. Its creators describe individual illustrated charts as being capable of being read independently and explain that anatomical structures are frequently presented using plane-by-plane dissection or layered muscle and neurovascular views.
Table of Contents Overview
The book is organized into three major parts.
Part I — Morphological and Functional Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerve
This section covers:
- The normal nerve
- Morpho-functional anatomy
- Peripheral nerve organization
- Axons and cytoskeleton
- Axonal flow
- Schwann cells and myelination
- Mechanical properties
- Vascularization
- Neuromuscular junction
- Nerve injury
- Nerve degeneration
- Neural repair
- Functional regeneration
- Neuroplasticity
- Peripheral nerve embryology
- Limb innervation
- Plexus development
Part II — Nerves of the Upper Limb
This part covers the brachial plexus and the principal upper-limb peripheral nerves, including the axillary, musculocutaneous, radial, median, ulnar, suprascapular, and long thoracic nerves. The chapters incorporate anatomy, pathology, sonoanatomy, interventions, and surgical procedures where applicable.
Part III — Nerves of the Lower Limb
The lower-limb section covers the lumbosacral plexus, obturator, femoral, sciatic, tibial, common fibular, lateral femoral cutaneous, iliohypogastric, and ilioinguinal nerves.
The book also contains an index and a list of videos associated with multiple nerve chapters. The listed video material includes demonstrations related to nerve origin, course, neurovascular relationships, branches, motor and sensory functions, and sonoanatomy.
Strengths of The Book
The most evident strength is its visual and spatial approach to peripheral nerve anatomy. Rather than treating anatomy purely as text-based information, the atlas attempts to transform anatomical structures into layered and three-dimensional representations.
A second strength is its integration of anatomy with clinical practice. The progression from nerve morphology to pathology, ultrasound, interventional procedures, and surgery provides a clinically oriented framework.
A third strength is its breadth within peripheral limb anatomy. The work does not focus exclusively on the most commonly discussed nerves. It also addresses nerves such as the suprascapular, long thoracic, lateral femoral cutaneous, iliohypogastric, and ilioinguinal nerves.
A fourth strength is the use of medical imaging and ultrasound anatomy alongside conventional anatomical illustrations. The brachial plexus section, for instance, includes ultrasound identification of cervical roots and plexus structures as well as MRI representations.
Finally, the project is multidisciplinary. Its contributors include clinicians, researchers, graphic designers, technicians, medical students, and residents, reflecting the collaborative nature of the atlas.
Limitations
The book is highly specialized. Its concentration on peripheral nerves of the limbs means that it should not be considered a comprehensive atlas of the entire human nervous system or a general anatomy textbook.
In addition, the book was published in 2020. The material reviewed here does not establish whether every imaging, interventional, neuromodulation, or surgical technique remains current in 2026.
For clinical decision-making, readers should therefore use contemporary guidelines, institutional protocols, and current specialist literature alongside the anatomical information.
The book's own supplementary-material notices also indicate that some online material is available only to authorized users.
Comparison With Similar Books
Its approach combines peripheral nerve anatomy, three-dimensional visualization, medical imaging, ultrasound anatomy, pathology, interventions, and surgery.
That makes its intended role different from a broad general anatomy textbook. It is best understood as a specialized peripheral nerve anatomy atlas with a strong clinical and procedural orientation.
Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves
FAQs
Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves – The Nerves of the Limbs – Expert Edition is a specialized anatomical atlas edited by Philippe Rigoard and published by Springer in 2020. It focuses on peripheral nerve anatomy of the upper and lower limbs and connects anatomical knowledge with clinical, imaging, interventional, and surgical concepts.
The book is particularly relevant to medical students, trainees, neurosurgeons, neurologists, anatomists, and healthcare professionals who need detailed knowledge of peripheral nerve anatomy. The forewords specifically emphasize its educational value for students and practising neurosurgeons and neurologists.
The book covers major peripheral nerves of the upper and lower limbs. Upper-limb coverage includes the axillary, musculocutaneous, radial, median, ulnar, suprascapular, and long thoracic nerves. Lower-limb coverage includes the obturator, femoral, sciatic, tibial, common fibular, lateral femoral cutaneous, iliohypogastric, and ilioinguinal nerves.
Yes. Sonoanatomy is incorporated into multiple nerve chapters. The brachial plexus section, for example, describes ultrasound examination of cervical roots and plexus structures, while individual nerve chapters contain ultrasound procedures and anatomical localization material.
Yes. Surgical procedures and approaches are included throughout the nerve chapters. The material includes surgical indications, exposure, anatomical approaches, and technical pitfalls for selected nerves and clinical conditions.
Yes. Pathology is incorporated into individual nerve chapters. Examples listed in the contents include posterior interosseous nerve syndrome, anterior interosseous nerve syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, ulnar tunnel syndrome, obturator neuralgia, femoral neuralgia, piriformis syndrome, soleus syndrome, tarsal tunnel syndrome, fibular nerve injury, and meralgia paraesthetica.
Yes. The book was explicitly conceived as a teaching tool, and its authors emphasize spatial and visual learning. The forewords also identify students and trainees as important beneficiaries.
Yes. A dedicated list of videos accompanies the book, with videos covering subjects such as nerve origin, course, neurovascular relationships, branches, motor and sensory function, and sonoanatomy for multiple upper- and lower-limb nerves.
Conclusion
Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves – The Nerves of the Limbs, Expert Edition offers a specialized approach to one of the most demanding areas of clinical anatomy: the peripheral nervous system of the limbs.
Its major educational value lies in the way it combines detailed morphology with spatial visualization, functional anatomy, embryology, pathology, medical imaging, ultrasound anatomy, interventional techniques, peripheral nerve stimulation, and surgical approaches.
The book's creators deliberately emphasize visual and three-dimensional learning as a way to develop a stronger internal understanding of anatomical space.
For students, it can serve as a visual companion to foundational anatomy study. For residents and specialists, its greatest value is likely to be in reviewing the anatomical relationships that underpin clinical examination, imaging, interventions, and surgery.
Its detailed treatment of individual nerves also makes it useful when studying specific peripheral nerve disorders.
The book should not be viewed as a replacement for current clinical guidelines or contemporary literature, particularly when making patient-care decisions. Nevertheless, for readers seeking a focused anatomical reference dedicated to the peripheral nerves of the upper and lower limbs, Atlas of Anatomy of the Peripheral Nerves provides a distinctive combination of anatomy, visualization, and clinical orientation.
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