This website is a project of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons Pelvic Anatomy Group (PAG). The mission of the SGS PAG is to advance the field of gynecologic surgery through research and education on pelvic anatomy.
The Pelvic Anatomy Group consists of three working groups:
Nomenclature Group
The mission of the Nomenclature Group is to create a standardized list of preferred terminology for female pelvic anatomy to be used in medical communication by creating a “concordance map” for anatomical terms for the female pelvis. Their work has produced the multiple publications that have informed the creation of this website. The terminology used in this work is based on the publication Terminologia Anatomica, 2nd edition, which is an international consensus publication on anatomic terminology.
3D Imaging Group
The mission of the 3D Imaging Group is to cultivate and disseminate the skills necessary to understand, interpret, and study three-dimensional imaging of the pelvis in order to advance understanding and future treatment of dynamic, in vivo, pelvic anatomy. The work of the 3D Imaging Group is integral to this website.
Digital Library Group
The mission of the Digital Library Group is to disseminate knowledge of female pelvic anatomy, promote the use of standardized anatomic terminology, and to advance the field of gynecologic surgery by creating and maintaining the most anatomically accurate resource for female pelvic anatomy. Since 2018 the Digital Library Group has been systematically developing this website to serve as a resource for anatomy teaching and study. This surgeon-led site uses surgical, clinical, and cadaver dissection photos, videos, and images reviewed by expert anatomists and field leaders. This website also disseminates the work of the Nomenclature and 3D Imaging Groups. Only precise historical drawings are included and we have purposefully excluded digital recreations and illustrations, as they are typically inaccurate or incomplete.
This website is supported by the John O. L. DeLancey Fund. Donations to this fund support the ongoing development and maintenance of the website.
John O. L. DeLancey, MD
Senior Editor
Dr. John O. L. DeLancey, MD is a Norman F. Miller Professor of Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School and Director of Pelvic Floor Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has spent his career discovering and describing the functional anatomy of the female pelvic floor and how childbirth and advancing age cause its structures to fail, resulting in several pelvic floor disorders. This work began with many detailed dissections and intraoperative observations to establish the details of various structural connections and functional interactions. During this time, he had a busy clinical referral practice where he encountered complex pelvic floor disorders; a key factor in assessing the limitations of our current understanding.
With the advent of MRI and in conjunction with physiological testing, it became possible to test specific hypotheses by comparing living anatomy and function in women with various types of pelvic floor disorders. Collaboration with biomechanical engineers allowed complex analysis including structural models that helped determine the consequences of specific structural failures. This work has resulted in moving our diagnostic and therapeutic paradigms from focusing on the result of structural failures (e.g. cystocele) to identifying the specific structural failures responsible (e.g. hiatal enlargement, apical descent, anterior vaginal elongation). He has received over $25 million in NIH funding to support this interdisciplinary research with the Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University of Michigan.
Dr. DeLancey’s work is the foundation to our current understanding of functional anatomy of the pelvic floor and pelvic floor disorders. He has published over 330 original scientific papers and has been a keynote speaker and visiting professor in over 35 countries on six continents. In recognition of this pioneering research, Dr. DeLancey was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine and inducted as an honorary Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists ad eundem. He has provided national leadership as president of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons; receiving their Distinguished Surgeon Award; president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, and president of the American Urogynecologic Society, receiving their Jack Robertson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marlene Corton, MD, MS
Senior Editor
Dr. Corton is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, Texas. She received her medical degree from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 1994, and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in 1998, followed by a preceptorship in Urogynecology and Urodynamics from 1998-2001. She obtained a Masters in Clinical Science in 2012. Dr. Corton has been a member of the editorial board of the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery journal and is currently an editor of Williams Gynecology. She has held many leadership positions including serving as the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Division Director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and as a member of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Board of Directors.
For her entire career, Dr. Corton has focused on furthering the understanding of pelvic anatomy and teaching it to others. She founded and directs the surgical anatomy and fresh cadaver dissection course at UT Southwestern. She has organized and directed anatomy courses for both SGS and the American Urogynecologic Society and has authored many prize-winning anatomy papers and videos. She is devoted to education and was the Associate Residency Program Director at UT Southwestern for 12 years. She received the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award in 2002 as well as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Mentor of the Year Award in 2013. She was a member of the SGS Education Committee and served as an SGS Executive Board Member. She has been a mentor for all three SGS Pelvic Anatomy Groups. Dr. Corton is dedicated to promoting excellence in gynecologic surgery through acquisition of knowledge, and advancement of research and education.
Digital Library Group Chair: Annetta Madsen, MD
Steering Committee: Sarah Andiman, MD, Caroline Cox, MD, Daisy Hassani, MD
Digital Library Group Members: Saya Segal, MD, MSCE, Scott Smilen, MD, Kris Strohbehn, MD, Terry White, MD
Past Members: Olivia Cardenas-Trowers, MD, Maria Florian-Rodriguez, MD, Mae Sanaee, MD, Polina Sawyer, MD
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