Sectional depiction of the pelvic floor by CT, MR imaging and sheet plastination: computer-aided correlation and 3D model

The structures of the pelvic floor are clinically important but difficult t o assess. To facilitate the understanding of the complicated pelvic floor a natomy on sectional images obtained by CT and MR imaging, and to make the r epresentation more vivid, a computer-aided 3D model was created from a male and a female torso to develop a teaching tool. A male and a female cadaver torso were investigated by means of CT, MR imaging, and serial-section she et plastination. A 3D reconstruction of the pelvic floor and adjacent struc tures was performed by fusion of CT and MR imaging data sets with sheet pla stination sections. Corresponding sections from all three methods could be compared and visualized in their 3D context. Sheet plastination allows dist inction of connective tissue, muscles, and pelvic organs down to a microsco pic level. In combination with CT, MR imaging, and sheet plastination a 3D model of the pelvic floor offers a better understanding of the complex pelv ic anatomy. This knowledge may be applied in the diagnostic imaging of urin ary incontinence or prolapse and prior to prostate surgery.