Anatomical Spaces -- Radiology of the Anatomical Compartments -- Surgical Endoscopic Access to Potential Anatomical Spaces: A Multidisciplinary Issue -- Technical Aspects for Access into the Neck (Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Thyroidectomy — Mivat) -- Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Access to the Mediastinum -- Minimally Invasive Access to the Axilia -- Video-Assisted Approach to the Retroperitoneum -- Extraperitoneal Video-Assisted Approach to the Abdominal Aorta -- Total Extraperitoneal Approach (Tep) for Inguinal Hernia Repair -- Video-Assisted Access to the Subfascial Space of the Leg -- New Technologies in Minimally Invasive Surgery.

"Potential anatomical spaces" have attracted surgeons in the past and in recent years. Due to the development of modern imaging techniques and the advent of minimally invasive surgery, access to these spaces has become a real surgical option. The purpose of this book is to document the challenges related to "potential anatomical spaces", traditionally described as "hidden" spaces. The spread of video-assisted surgery and its application in the management of diseases involving organs or anatomical structures placed in the "potential spaces" (neck, mediastinum, pro-peritoneum and retro-peritoneum, subfacial space of the leg, and axilla), has rendered their surgical anatomy less abstract.