First Aid Radiology for the Wards

Published by McGraw-Hill, First Aid Radiology for the Wards is the latest installment of review books specifically designed for medical students. The idea of a concise textbook that highlights classic radiologic findings in commonly encountered pathology is wonderful; however, I had mixed overall impressions of this book.

The review text is organized into three sections: “How to Succeed in a Radiology Rotation,” “High Yield Facts” (broken down imaging into major areas of radiology), and “Classifieds,” which includes information regarding websites and scholarship opportunities for medical students. Although most of the text is contained within the second section, there are many invaluable bits of information, including sections about topics ranging from expectations of a radiology rotation to radiation safety guidelines.

I believe that any text that discusses radiology should have a requisite introductory chapter that explains, if only at a fundamental level, the physics involved in the various typical imaging modalities. Unfortunately, this text fails to do so, instead substituting piecemeal bullet points at the beginning of every chapter. An introduction to radiology would be immensely valuable to medical students as they gain exposure to the field for the first time.

The bulk of the textbook is dedicated to various disciplines within radiology, including neuroradiology, gastrointestinal radiology, genitourinary radiology, chest radiology, musculoskeletal radiology, and pediatric radiology. Particularly strong areas are the sections on musculoskeletal and chest radiology. Within each area, the editors do an excellent job of providing high-quality images; but although the book contains 150 computed tomographic, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomographic, and ultrasound images, usually only one image is shown per disease, and often, only descriptions are given, with no images.

There seemed to be a trade-off between the number of different findings and the amount of information dedicated to disease pathology and presentation. Given that most medical students using this book will not enter radiology residency, I believe that more attention could have been paid to presentation and the guidelines for ordering studies. Overall, First Aid Radiology for the Wards does a fair job of making the field of radiology more accessible to medical students. In its paperback and transportable design, it discusses many of the “must-not-miss” diagnoses, but with its overall lack of images and often cursory discussions of disease pathology and image findings, diligent students may be left wanting more.

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First Aid Radiology for the Wards

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Further Reading

Comparison of Digital Radiographs with Film Radiographs for the Classification of Pneumoconiosis1

Contrast Medium Issues in MR Urography

Determination of Left Ventricular Mass on Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography1