We might give the following simple stereotactic surgery definition: it is an image guided surgery. From stereotactic surgery history we know that initially the method of stereotactic surgery was developed and worked out by British scientists (a physician and an engineer) back in 1908 at University College Hospital in London. They built up an apparatus called The Horsley-Clarke apparatus (their last names) with the implemented three-orthogonal system. However, the devise was tested on the animals. But still lots of animal neurolabs use upgraded models of their originally constructed device.
There were some difficulties with the usage of the Horsley-Clarke apparatus for humans due to high inconstancy of spatial relations between human skull and brain. However, instead of bone landmarks some reference points in the brain could be used. Stereotactic surgery history suggests that pineal gland served a landmark in the first devise for humans. Later on, anterior and posterior commissures were most frequently used as cerebral landmarks and points.
Stereotactic surgery history had its second birth and revival in 1947-1949 when two American scientists, working in the field of neurology, Henry Wycis and Ernest Spiegel, and a neurosurgeon from Sweeden Lars Leksell made the first attempt and succeeded in building up the first stereotactic device used for humans. It's worth saying that their invention was primarily based on the method initially developed by Horsley and Clarke. The scientists used so-called translation system in their device.
However, Leksell's device had a completely different nature and had another principle: so-called spherical. It turned out such a device was far more convenient in the operation room for doctors. The concept of stereotactic localization was the basis of Leksell's next invention; it was a device for brain radiosurgery. The method continued to develop, and nowadays uses a complicated combination of image-guided surgery with intraroom computed tomography, stereotactic localization and magnetic resonance imaging.
During the past 80 years, stereotactic surgery history turned into reality. Once an invention in the neurolabs, it is now the part of neurosurgeon routine, becoming more and more commonly used with every coming day. It is a very young branch, since the whole thing started just 40 years ago and it's immensely rapid development might be accounted for contribution made by other significant branches like electronics, neurophysiology, radiology and newly emerged sciences: advances in neuropathology, computer science, computerized tomographic scanning.
Scientists expect the development of neuropharmacology and embryology to contribute to stereotactic surgery in the immediate future. The branch is extremely prospective taking into account the development of know-how and IT technologies. This increasing activity requires corresponding informational coverage. This led to foundation of periodicals, forums and societies: Confina Neurolgica, Applied Neurophysiology, Acta Neurochirurgica, the European Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, etc.
It just goes to show you: who'd have thought that 50 years ago, the same basic principals of photography that we employ to take a photo of our child would be employed as a life-saving method of surgical treatment?