Netter or Sobotta?

[tacojohn]

Hi,

i read some topics about the best anatomy atlas, and it seems everyone thinks Netter is the atlas u want to buy.
Now im not living in the US but Netherlands, and here the Sobotta atlas seems to be the best. Every professor recommends the Sobotta atlas.

Sobotta is a lot more expensive (200 EUR; English version ~150EUR i think), but also has a lot more figures. It comes in a 2 volume book.

Does anyone know which of these 2 atlases is the best? Sobotta is originally German and Netter is American. Maybe thats the reason why Netter is so popular in US?

I just need to buy a good atlas, and want to know if Sobotta is worth the price when u compare it with Netter

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[med_heidelberg]

Are you studying in English, or are you planning to use an English text? Here in Germany the Prometheus is very popular .. the pictures are amazing and there is a lot of information in the atlas itself .. its called a Lernatlas. I recently saw an English version at our bookstore. All the anatomical terms are in Latin though, of course. There are three volumes, and worth every penny.

I used Prometheus and the lecture notes and that worked out fine. I think Netters pictures are better than Sobotta .. but Prometheus has amazing pictures too .. they are more lifelike than Netters and you can learn directly from the atlas .. you dont really need an extra textbook.

http://www.amazon.de/PROMETHEUS-Lernatlas-Anatomie-Allgemeine-Bewegungssystem/dp/3131395214

 

[peacefuljourney]

Hi,

I'm also studying in Europe - many colleagues have sobatta (spelling?). Some have netter-s. I went through both in detail one weekend with borrowed texts and both are great but in the end i went with netter's. Sobatta has too many labels on one page - just a flood. i also thought netter's had some unique views and some peripheral diagrams that sobatta didn't.

My .02. S-

 

[lord_jeebus]

I'm a huge Sobotta fan but if you can't find a good deal on a used copy I'd save money and go with the Netter. Even better would be to get Clemente which uses Sobotta plates.

 

[tacojohn]

I forgot to say that Prometheus is also very popular here.

I dont really care about the language. German maybe better than english, cause germans use latin terms. And i just found out that the german is only 70 EUR. Thats almost the same price as Netter

I do have the CD-ROM from sobotta and the pictures in the CD-ROM are almost as sharp as the book. U cant say that about netter (which uses low res pics for the CD-ROM). But i dont have the netter cd-rom cause u can only buy it with the book. The sobotta cd-rom i bought from someone very cheap who stopped with his studies but i always get a error (the error is "bereichsüberschreitung" while the atlas is in dutch)... contacting the publisher didnt help really. So basically, when im buying sobotta im only buying it cause of that error...

Im still thinking of buying one of these atlases:
- Netter (gold standard in US) - cheap
- Sobotta - gold standard in europe i think - expensive - 2 volumes
- Taschenatlas der Anatomie - dont underestimate this one. I think the current edition is the 21st or so. It comes in 3 volumes and this one is really good.
- Prometheus - comes in 3 volumes
- Thieme Atlas of Human Anatomy - this seems to be a new one. From the reviews i read this is the best of all atlases... http://www.thieme.com/SID2298253228835/thiemeatlasofanatomy/index.html#series

-edit-

I just found out that Prometheus atlas is from Thieme. And the authors of the Thieme atlas of anatomy are the same as the Prometheus atlas. So it seems 2me that the Thieme atlas is a upgrade or something from the prometheus atlas. Even the covers look the same

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe thats the reason why Netter is so popular in US?

I just need to buy a good atlas, and want to know if Sobotta is worth the price when u compare it with Netter

Many US students get Netters for free (by joining various organizations), which is partly why it is so significantly used. And many US anatomy profs will amply use Netter diagrams in their lectures (along with Grays and Grants), because that is what was used when they were learning it. There are clearly better atlases out there but there are definite advantages in having the one that the profs are teaching from.

 

[tacojohn]

Thieme = Prometheus i found out.

Im done with my decision. Im 99% sure ill buy the prometheus. Just read reviews or look at the websites (german or english). They provide many insight in the book (pdf's).
It is expensive, but worth the money

 

[Critical Mass]

I like Netter.

 

[tacojohn]

But many ppl like Netter, but the big question is: did u try something else

 

[DragonWell]

I think one of the reasons you will get different opinions on this question is that people have different criteria for what constitutes a "good" atlas.

Netter is popular because plates are presented in a somewhat simplified way that makes it relatively easy to study from, though sometimes at the expense of anatomical accuracy or detail.

Sobotta generally is more detailed than Netter and tends to give more views of structures which can be helpful for in depth study, but might be overkill for the average med students needs.

The Thieme series has the most incredible illustrations of any atlas I have seen - some are approaching photo quality! It is also very complete and, since it is in 3 volumes, is going to be quite expensive. The Thieme atlas has lots of accompanying text which, while it might be a good concept, is not always well written or complete enough to make the atlas truly a "one stop" for all your anatomy needs.

Just my opinions.

 

[CatsandCradles]

The Thieme series has the most incredible illustrations of any atlas I have seen - some are approaching photo quality! It is also very complete and, since it is in 3 volumes, is going to be quite expensive. The Thieme atlas has lots of accompanying text which, while it might be a good concept, is not always well written or complete enough to make the atlas truly a "one stop" for all your anatomy needs.

Just my opinions.

I'm a Thieme fan too.

I just saw that there are no longer 3 volumes for Thieme - they condensed it down into 2 thick volumes.


Now about Netter....he's got like exaggerated stuff in his drawings man. Like the pterygoid mandibular raphe - he had this huge ass line running inbetween the superior pharygeal constrictor and the buccal muscle...

...well when I did the dissection, the pterygoid mandibular raphe looked like crap. The anatomy instructor was like "No you did fine, Netters is crap"

 

[lord_jeebus]

I just saw that there are no longer 3 volumes for Thieme - they condensed it down into 2 thick volumes.

Where did you see this? Looks like 3 volumes on both thieme.com and amazon

 

[tacojohn]

Thieme certainly has 3 volumes. But i think the third volume isnt translated yet.

Ur right about that Thieme isnt a one stop for all my anatomy needs, but i do have a anatomy textbook: grays anatomy for students. For what its worth... i dont like the book at all I bought it cause it is the standard anatomy book from my uni. They just skipped from Moore to Gray. When i look at Moore's book, it was very very foolish to use Gray instead of Moore...

Also the figures in Gray look like they are from a "model". They are just to simple. Even i can make them in illustrator

Thieme worked 8 (!!!) years on the figures, and i think they are the first who used a wacom tablet I think using a PC gives a illustrator more freedom.

 

[DragonWell]

Yeah, the 3rd Thieme volume - Head, Neck and Neuro just came out in the US about 2 weeks ago. Pretty cool that they incorporated a full Neuro section.

I totally agree about Gray's for Students - I definitely prefer Moore. Big Gray's Anatomy, however is an amazing book. It covers everything from embryology to Neuro in tremendous detail. Too much detail for med students needs, but it is a very readable reference.

Netter's fault is also his strength - exaggerating the anatomy makes it easier to learn, but is less true to the real thing. For me though, the purpose of a drawn atlas is just to visualize how the anatomical concepts fit together. Sometimes a more schematic illustration like Instant Anatomy works even better for me than a life-like one.

If you want to see what something really looks like, Rohen or the Acland DVDs would be my resources of choice. (next to the lab, of course)

 

[MSHell]

I personally loved the Thieme books. I used them more as an atlas but the text was sufficient for much of the course. Great size too - small enought to fit into pockets during anatomy lab.

I also had big Moore's for the text portion, but I think that was overkill. The smaller version would have been just fine.

 

[tacojohn]

I bought thieme/prometheus.

I can only say it blows out sobotta and netter in every aspect... if u have the money, buy this book. the pictures r WOW!

 

[DragonWell]

I personally loved the Thieme books. I used them more as an atlas but the text was sufficient for much of the course. Great size too - small enought to fit into pockets during anatomy lab.

I also had big Moore's for the text portion, but I think that was overkill. The smaller version would have been just fine.

? Either you have the biggest lab coat in the world, or I think you're talking about different books. These are full size atlases.

 

[MSHell]

? Either you have the biggest lab coat in the world, or I think you're talking about different books. These are full size atlases.

This is what I was talking about - the Thieme Flexibooks - volumes 1-3

 

[45408]

Netter is popular because plates are presented in a somewhat simplified way that makes it relatively easy to study from, though sometimes at the expense of anatomical accuracy or detail.

Sobotta generally is more detailed than Netter and tends to give more views of structures which can be helpful for in depth study, but might be overkill for the average med students needs.

I WANT simplified illustrations, because that way I can see the schematics behind it all. If you want 100% anatomical accuracy, go look at the cadaver! That's photo quality, folks.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I WANT simplified illustrations, because that way I can see the schematics behind it all. If you want 100% anatomical accuracy, go look at the cadaver! That's photo quality, folks.

I think the multiple angles found in Sobotta are better for understanding schematics than Netter, which I don't consider "simplified" but rather limited in the views it provides.

 

[Doko]

I think Netter has only had one version since the beginning. If you talk to surgical faculty, a lot of them will tell you that they STILL look at netter's.