V Contents

Preface to the First English Edition

The first German edition of this book, which was later lovingly known as
The Faller, published in 1966. At this time nobody could ever have
imagined that The Human Body, written by Swiss anatomist Adolf Fal-
ler, would remain uniquely successful for almost 40 years. Thirteen Ger-
man editions and several editions in other languages speak for them-
selves. Fifteen years after Fallers death, the thoroughly and extensively
revised 13th German edition published. The current English edition is
based upon this German edition.
The newversion contains almost 200 more pages than the original. In
addition, more than 50 newillustrations have been added to facilitate an
easier approach to sometimes difficult information. Where necessary,
entire chapters have been rewritten to cover the latest developments in
human biology and medicine. All these changes have been made with
the reader in mind. In fact, many of the changes were suggestions from
the readers which we have happily incorporated. These include a brief
summary at the end of each chapter, a fold-out depicting the complete
human skeleton, and a table of contents at the beginning of each chapter.
We therefore thank our readers for their many helpful suggestions and
hope that readers of the English edition will follow suit.
Many thanks go to our translator Oliver French MD, who not only
skilfully translated the text but also adapted it to American medical
practice. Due to his expertise this book is far more than a simple transla-
tion of a German textbook; it has really become an international text-
book in its own right. Many helpful suggestions from Ethan Taub MD, a
New York-trained neurosurgeon, were also incorporated into the text.
Preparing this English edition was a rewarding experience and we
hope that the reader will share our enthusiam when studying the fasci-
nating fabric of the human body. This work has been made particularly
enjoyable by the help of the experienced Thieme staff. We would like to
express our appreciation to Ms G Kuhn, Mr R Zepf, and Dr C Bergman. Mr
Faller, The Human Body 2004 Thieme
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