A senior radiology resident offered this endorsement of Huda’s Physics : “I read the whole book three times. The first time was just to learn the basics. The second time, I paid more attention to the details. The third time, I realized I actually needed to know every single word.”
When a review text achieves this sort of canonical status, it may seem superfluous to undertake a major revision. Yet that is exactly what author Walter Huda has done in the third and newest edition of Review of Radiology Physics , which boasts significantly restructured material, rewritten review questions, and revamped illustrations and tables.
These changes are evident on opening the new edition, with its smaller type and more liberal use of boldface than its predecessor. The most striking difference, however, is found in comparing the first few chapters. Much of the introductory physics with which Huda and Slone began the second edition has been condensed or moved to later sections, apparently with the aim of moving as quickly as possible into clinical applications. This is in keeping with the third edition’s focus on “the material that non-physicists need… to perform routine clinical duties,” as Huda writes in the preface.
For the most part, the reorganization makes sense and helps readers place seemingly pedantic, abstract constructs within a clinical framework. For instance, the section on radionuclides and alpha and beta decay previously tucked into the first chapter now opens the new edition’s chapter on nuclear medicine, where it serves as an appropriate lead-in to radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear imaging.
A particularly timely change is the expansion of radiation safety into two chapters, “Radiobiology/Patient Dosimetry” and “Radiation Protection,” which incorporate calculations of exposure and effective dose from different imaging modalities into the context of patient risk. Given heightened attention to cumulative patient radiation dose and concerns regarding short- and long-term adverse outcomes, radiologists undoubtedly need ready knowledge of these issues.
Other changes, such as combining mammography and fluoroscopy into a single chapter headed “Projection Radiography II,” are less intuitive, especially because the material itself remains more or less intact. The new edition also promises updated information on nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging, but these revisions seem relatively minor and aren’t sufficient reason for owners of the 2003 version to invest in the current edition.
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