A method of automatically registering a surgical navigation system to a patient's anatomy is provided. The method comprises programming a surgical navigation system with a first spatial relationship between a surgical component and a reference array connected to the surgical component, programming the surgical navigation system with a second spatial relationship between an anatomical feature of a patient and the surgical component, installing the surgical component on the patient such that the surgical component engages the anatomical feature in the second spatial relationship, and locating the reference array with the surgical navigation system. The navigation system automatically recognizes the position of the reference array relative to the patient's anatomy.
