1. A process for intra-operatively providing anatomical guidance in endocrine surgery, comprising the steps of: (a) illuminating tissues in the neck area of a living subject with a beam of light having a predetermined wavelength; (b) obtaining Raman data from light scattered from the illuminated tissues; (c) finding Raman signatures corresponding to thyroid or parathyroid tissues from the obtained Raman data; and (d) identifying the thyroid or parathyroid tissues from the corresponding Raman signatures.