The Thoracic Surgery Residents Association (TSRA) was established in 1997 under the guidance of the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) to create a unified voice to represent residents during cardiothoracic surgery training. The organization has developed as a core mission a focus on improving the quality, accessibility and utility of resident education. The current publication seeks to provide a resource which may be used in the surgeon's daily practice as a resource for the review of the major steps of an operation as well as a guide to the appropriate documentation of the conduct of that operation. We hope that the text will be useful for both practicing surgeons and residents in training. While the list of operations included in the text is extensive it is by no means intended to be inclusive of the entire breadth of the field of cardiothoracic surgery. Additionally, the text provides descriptions of one approach to the operations included. We acknowledge that the approach to a given operation may vary among surgeons, and institutions. This text is not intended to establish a uniform 'correct' approach, nor is it intended as a surrogate for formal residency training.