The principal mission of this book, as set out in the Preface, is to “give the reader a ‘feel’ for radiologic anatomy and the radiologic manifestations of some common disease processes.” The authors further warrant that the reader, who is identified as a student or practitioner, “will be better prepared for consultation with the radiologist” after reading it. Any instructional text intended for radiologists has as its aim to cover as much information as possible in as many pages (or volumes) as it takes. The authors of Radiology 101 , on the other hand, do not pretend to provide an exhaustive review of all of radiology in a mere 369 pages, nor would any student or practitioner undertake the task of reading one. The average clinician, whose relationship with radiology forms an increasingly critical component of patient care, needs an accessible, comprehensive, and manageable guide to medical imaging. In carrying out their intended mission, the authors do an enviable job.
The first chapter provides a general overview of hardware and technique, such as x-ray generation, high-resolution computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and contrast media. The physics behind the magic is kept to a necessary minimum. The remainder of the book offers overviews of the major anatomic and modality sections: Chest, Abdomen, Pediatric Imaging, Musculoskeletal, Spine and Pelvis, Brain, Head and Neck, Nuclear Imaging, Breast Imaging and Interventional Imaging. Chapters range from approximately 15 (Brain) to 90 (Musculoskeletal) pages and are supplemented with numerous diagrams, tables, and images. The Chest chapter demonstrates normal anatomy with labeled radiographs of actual axial slices of cadaver models. The Musculoskeletal chapter dedicates abundant space to normal skeletal radiographs, followed by a concise description of pathologic conditions. The text relies mostly on plain radiography and computed tomography with occasional magnetic resonance and a handful of ultrasound images. A separate chapter is reserved for Nuclear Medicine, which contains examples of scintigraphy, cardiac imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography. Disease states are often presented with corresponding images from two different modalities, such as a pelvis radiograph of a sacral meningocele with a corresponding computed tomography in the Spine and Pelvis chapter. The text is consistently clearly written and organized effectively, flowing naturally from topic to topic, rendering it an easy read for the busy clinician. Important highlights are summarized at the end of each chapter as bulleted key points. In general, the images are of excellent quality. Very rarely, pictures are poorly reproduced to the extent that the intended finding is not evident, a regrettably but predictably irksome feature of many radiology textbooks. In addition, there are occasional editorial errors, such as mislabeling of figures or spelling mistakes, which insignificantly detract from the overall expert treatment of the subject matter.
Any book that attempts to provide a survey of such a broad field as radiology invites criticism over what it does not cover. Although I commend the authors on skillfully covering the fundamentals, a few topics are notably underdeveloped. For example, with the increasing reliance on modalities that employ ionizing radiation, it would seem appropriate to offer a more detailed discussion on radiation exposure and safety, particularly for a book targeted to nonradiologist clinicians who order these studies. Although several chapters touch on this subject, one could argue for significantly more attention. In addition, a little more on the subject of nonaccidental trauma in the pediatric population might have proven beneficial. Many pediatricians provide interpretations of radiographs without consulting a radiologist and, therefore, need special knowledge in recognizing the radiographic signs of physical abuse. A book geared toward clinicians might be a good place to address this issue in greater depth.
Notwithstanding, Radiology 101 truly succeeds in its objective of covering the “Basics and Fundamentals of Radiology.” In today’s practice of medicine, clinicians are the gatekeepers to the vast and awesome world of diagnostic imaging. To ensure informed selection of radiologic studies and consultation with the radiologist, more than a passing familiarity with the creation and interpretation of these tests is necessary. For such a clinician, one who is not satisfied with just reading the “impression” of a radiology report, Radiology 101 will prove an invaluable resource.
Book:
Contents: ★★★
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Grading Key
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