Surface models and gradually stripped volume model to explore the foot muscles

Abstract

Objectives: Authors intended to confirm whether simultaneous watching of the surface and the volume models contributes to foot anatomy.

Methods: Outlines of the skin and foot muscles were traced in the sectioned images of a cadaver to build surface models of the structures. After the outlines were filled with appointed colors, the sectioned images, including the colors, were stacked to yield the volume model of foot which was stripped from the skin little by little.

Results: The stripped volumes illustrated the depth of the individual foot muscles. In clinics, the stripped volumes of the foot’s computed tomographs and magnetic resonance images could be a solution for standardization regardless of the degrees of plantar flexion.

Conclusion: The exploration of volume model, accompanied by equivalent surface models, can potentially be applied to anatomical research in order to discern the morphological properties of a region or an organ.