All physicians have at some point in their career studied the illustrations of Frank Netter. His Adas of Human Anatomy is indisputably one of the most beloved books in medicine， to the point that purchasing it has become a rite of passage for a new medical student.
　　Many are unaware， however， that the Atlas represents only a tiny fraction of the illustrations Netter created during his lifetime. In fact， during his long and productive career， he produced over 20，000 illustrations depicting the anatomy， histology， physiology， and pathology of nearly every organ system.
　　Many of these illustrations were first published several decades ago in the \"green book\" series. The original edition of this volume-known as Kidneys， Ureters， and Bladder-covered an impressive number of topics， ranging from nephrotic syndrome to nephrectomy. Since its last revision in 1973， however， innumerable advances have been made in the fields of nephrology and urology As a result， even though the original edition has retained its historical importance， it has lost much of its relevance to the modern clinician.
　　In this new edition， we have attempted to reframe Netter's illustrations in the context of modern clinical practice. We have reorganized the various components of his illustrations based on current clinical concepts， and we have complemented them with hundreds of new radiographic and pathologic images.
　　In many instances， we have been struck by how accurate many of the original illustrations remain. As Netter himself once said， \"anatomy hasn't changed， but our perceptions of it have.\" Indeed， even as we understand disease processes m new ways， their appearance remains the same. Some important new concepts， however， Netter could not possibly have foreseen. In these instances we have relied on his talented team of successors， who have created many new illustrations for this edition.
　　We have tried to make the text， like the illustrations， both lucid enough for a medical student yet sophisticated enough for an experienced clinician. By editing the text from opposite poles of the professional spectrum-one of us is a professor and department chairman， the other a medical intern-we have tried to ensure this would happen by design， and not by hopeful accident. Nonetheless， given the rapid pace of discovery， we expect the text will not age nearly as well as the illustrations.
　　We would like to thank the many talented physicians and scientists who contributed to this book. We are particularly indebted to Jai Radhakrishnan， Jeffrey Newhouse， Leal Herlitz， Arthur Dalley， and Peter Humphrey for their extensive and tireless efforts.
　　We would also like to thank our families-and especially our wives， Leah Kelly and Laura Landman-for their patience and support during the 2 years we spent writing and editing this book.