Rating: 
Summary: Not just for students!
Review: A good anatomy atlas is invaluable in clinical practice as well!I regularly pull out my (previous edition) atlas to (1) teach patients the anatomy involved in various problems ("this is why we need to do XYZ"), AND (2) to localize an injury (dermatome pictures, foot and hand ligaments and muscles)... I wish this had been available when I was in medical school - it would have made anatomy a lot more accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Not just for students!
Review: A good anatomy atlas is invaluable in clinical practice as well! I regularly pull out my (previous edition) atlas to (1) teach patients the anatomy involved in various problems ("this is why we need to do XYZ"), AND (2) to localize an injury (dermatome pictures, foot and hand ligaments and muscles)... I wish this had been available when I was in medical school - it would have made anatomy a lot more accessible.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for medical school or home
Review: Frank Netter's atlas compiles his paintings of every imaginable human body part, seen in various degrees of dissection, into one volume. Dr. Netter's talent for reproducing the facts of anatomy is exquisite and unquestionable. However, as one looks a little deeper, it becomes clear that Netter is in fact a guru of function as well. Nerves, outlined in an unearthly yellow, terminate on muscles they actually innervate. Tendinous insertions are always on the correct part of bony protuberances, and fiber direction is always carefully detailed. Any unusual functional variances, such as the dual sympathetic/parasympathetic function of Vidian's nerve, or such as the pulley effect on the trochlear nerve, are always painstakingly pointed out. Netter also excels in variation, presenting, for example, 11 normal variants of the cystic and hepatic ducts. The alternatives are few and inadequate. Pernkopf is often cited as Netter's chief rival; his experimentation on living persons incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps forbids me from perusing his text, on ethical grounds. Grant's atlas is laughably inadequate by comparison, both in number and quality of the plates. And Gray's, the old standby, simply cannot measure up; Netter's bold colors and functional depictions are clearly superior. Rohen and Yokochi, a photographic atlas, offers the advantage of being photographs of superb dissections, and therefore more like what one encounters in the anatomy lab. Some find it useful as a supplement to Netter's atlas. I also used Moore's textbook of anatomy; the plates, from Grant's atlas, are not so good, but the text can be used to expand and illuminate on the relevant plates in Netter's, and the text is well written and clear. I found it indispensible to read a little bit about what I was looking at, the night before an anatomy lab. I have also lent my Netter to several artists (sculptors and painters,) all of whom found it to be quite useful. If you have any interest in human anatomy, then, you need a copy of Netter today!
Rating:
Summary: As a massage therapist, I LOVE this atlas of anatomy!
Review: I could not WAIT to get this book (3rd ed.) and when I did I was NOT disappointed! Since I am not a doctor, I am not concerned with comparing other features found in other atlases. I was and still am ONLY concerned with being able to find elusive muscles. This text does it. I agree that the binding of the softcover version is less than desirable, however the illustrations are phenomenal! I intend to use it in my quest for national certification, then as a client reference in my office. I feel the bright colors achieve distinction of different muscles, and I appreciate the various views of the same muscle. This helps to clarify the text we used in school ("Trail Guide to the Body" 2nd ed.). EXCELLENT lifetime investment!
Rating:
Summary: This atlas will always be a classic, must buy
Review: I used this atlas in chiropractic school. It's the best atlas, and it's so detailed that I prefer looking at this atlas than any other one. His pictures are as clear as can be. Obviously, Dr. Netter is very talented. I used this book also for my gross anatomy classes along with the following book also sold on amazon.com:
Spinal Anatomy Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers
(ISBN: 0971999600)
I got an A in my gross anatomy classes and also an A in my Spinal Anatomy class using both these books. My advice is definitely get both books. I also have friends in medical school who also used these two books and got excellent grades in their gross anatomy classes
Rating: 
Summary: Quite Good
Review: Love the diagram especially it's all colour coded (but a little bit overwhelming when just start looking at it)
but the sad thing it's a "pure" atlas
the prob with it is that it doesn't hav any text or explanations at all
Rating:
Summary: good content, poor manufacturing
Review: The content of the book is not suprisingly outstanding. However, the binding of the paperback is horrible. Pages started to loosen after just a week of normal use. Given the popularity of this book, one would think they would make a better binding. If you want the book to last, I guess you have to go with the hardcover.
Rating: 
Summary: Illustrations could be better
Review: This entire book consists of color illustrations of human anatomy. No explanation - just pictures. That was what I was looking for. I got this to study from to improve my drawing. I wouldn't recommend it for that purpose. The quality of the illustrations is OK, but definitely not good. It is sad to see such high quality print job go to waste.
In terms of medical use: It is easy to locate structures, both using the index and when mentally separating the object of interest from background in pictures. (I was premed so I have used this for anatomy.) Probably Netter was drawing a diagrammatic ideal human. The vagueness in the illustrations is good or bad depending on your purpose.
This is a good book for anatomy and medical students to study from. It is extremely expensive, but so are all your books. If you are studying anatomy to improve your art then you are better off going with a photo based book or even a reprint of Vesalius. I don't know what to recommend (still looking), but with this atlas you will likely be disappointed. Just look at the cover to see why. Netter's illustrations leave much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: The Gold Standard.
Review: This is a rather long review of the 3rd Edition. Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy has been considered the standard against which other atlases are compared. It really needs no introduction, so i'll just speak of the pros and cons of this edition compared to other atlases as well as to previous editions. ---Pros compared to other Atlases--- 1. Drawings are in vivid "unrealistic" colors. This is in contrast to Grant's atlas, which takes a more "life-like" color scheme. I call this a pro for Netter because it improves contrast and greatly helps in finding and remembering the location of structures. McMinn's is a photographic atlas of dissections, which is great for the lab, but does not nearly cover the content that Netter does. I also find photographs harder to study from. 2. This is first and foremost, an Atlas. There are about 600 pages crammed with drawings. There is virtually no text apart from the labels. The illustrations are generally better, clearer, larger, higher quality, and more plentiful (showing many sections of the same area) than other atlases. 3. Labels galore. Initially some pages may seem intimidating because of the enourmous amount of labelling, but once you get used to it- it's really much better than not enough labels (ie. Grant's). Example: Much easier to find "Pharyngeal Recess" in Netter than Grant's. ---Cons as compared to other Atlases--- 1. Expensive. Well, you get what you pay for. It's also gotten more expensive lately for this 3rd edition, very unfortunate. ICON publishing may have raised the price after they took over from Novartis. 2. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to carry two anatomy books: one for text and one for pictures. Grant's is better in this regard as it has "just enough" text to explain the drawings. As I said above, Netter doesn't ---Compared to Previous Editions--- A couple things are new in this edition. And only a couple. 1. About 8 surface anatomy plates at the start of every section done by a different artist. They're okay. Clearly can't replace a dedicated surface anatomy book. 2. New Xray, CT, MRI, etc. plates showing normal radiographic appearance. They're okay I guess, but really useless if you have a dedicated radiology text/atlas, or even if you use some websites. 3. Some labels and drawings were corrected to reflect current knowledge. The index has been significantly improved and expanded. 4. New version 3.0 Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy CDROM. Thank god. Finally they've left the medieval times and adopted 1024x768 res and higher quality pictures. Version 2.0 CD had an absurd and useless 640x480. This CDROM is now natively MAC/PC compatible, finally! (btw. Macs rock) ---Three Options--- It comes in 3 formats: 1. Soft-cover only. ISBN 1929007116 ($68.95) 2. Student Combo ISBN 1929007159 ($99.95): Soft-cover + _STUDENT_ edition of v3.0 Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy. There is a mistake on Amazon.com in this listing: The student-combo is NOT hardcover. I confirmed this with ICON Publishing and have reported it to Amazon. 3. Hard-cover + v3.0 Interactive Atlas of Human Anatomy ISBN 1929007213 ($129.95) I thought the Student CD-ROM would be a cut-down version of the full thing. It is NOT. The Student version is the full v3.0 PLUS 250 case-based USMLE style questions and Clinical Correlates. The CD-ROM is clearly improved over the previous versions, but owners of the book may not find any additional benefit as it is almost a straight rip from the book. Please note. The hardcover and the CD-ROM are not available for individual purchase. They are only available in the 3 options listed above. ---Conclusion--- Owners of the 2nd edition won't find much new in this version. The hefty price is definately not worth an upgrade. However, for first time atlas buyers - this is clearly still the gold standard. I recommend buying the $99 Student Combo version w/ v3.0 Student CD-Rom if you can afford it (since you can't buy the CD-ROM separately later), otherwise go with the Atlas alone. The hard-cover is way too pricey for most students, and the exclusion of the USMLE questions further indicates that it's being marketed as a "Collectors Item" for graduates. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: Hands down the best Anatomy atlas
Review: This is without a doubt the most useful atlas for any student of anatomy at any level. It's so valuable that in my first year of medical school I purchased two copies: one for studying at home in my apartment, and a second that I actually took into the gross lab to assist in dissection. The illustrations are extremely well done and in most cases very clearly labeled. One important aspect is that they are not OVER labeled. The most significant features that can be seen grossly are marked, while the minutiae are left for a more thorough anatomy text such as Moore. This is an invaluable text for Med 1 Anatomy, and a great reference to keep on hand for the future. Like every med student I've ever met, I gotta say . . . God bless Netter.
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