This atlas is the result of some 8 years of research by a highly specialized team at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli in Bologna, which boasts a long and glorious tradition in orthopaedics since the beginning of the century. The authors' decided to dedicate several years to the writing of the atlas in view of the hitherto negative surgical results due to incorrect or incomplete approaches to the bones or joints requiring treatment. In order to obtain the best possible anatomical and functional results in surgery of the locomotor apparatus, it is necessary to respect the anatomy of the muscular and neural formations safeguarding the vascularization of these anatomical elements. It is also important to ensure minimal traumatic exposure of the skeleton. Furthermore, all obstacles that may be encountered by the surgeon in the surgical approach (nerves, vessels, arteries) are clearly marked respectively in different colours on the impressive black and white anatomical drawings.