Note: This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues or clients, contact us at www.rsna.org/rsnarights.

662 radiology.rsna.org n Radiology: Volume 263: Number 3June 2012

BOOK REVIEWS

Primer of Diagnostic Imaging, 5th ed

Ralph Weissleder, Jack Wittenberg, Mukesh G. Harisinghani, and John W. Chen Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier, 2011. ISBN 978-0-323-06538-2. Softcover, $125.00; pp 816.

Radiology trainees and practicing physicians face a daunting task in assimilating and mastering the broad knowledge base required to func-

some readers may have preferred the cases to be grouped into organ systems to permit more targeted review. There is a search function available in the on-line cases that make this possible.

The price point of this book is good; however, access to the online format is limited to 1 yearwith discounted access extension available if purchased before or soon after the initial 1-year period. Of interest, it appears that the price for 1 year of online-only access to RadCases is the same as the book price (which includes 1-year online access), making the book purchase (with at least 100 cases that do not expire) the smarter buy.

Some limitations of the online mate-rials include the relatively small image viewing port (less than one-half of the screen; however, zoom and pan tools are provided), the limited subscription period, and the inability to control the speed of the cines. In addition, at least when using Firefox 5.0 on a Macintosh computer, once a link to additional ref-erences is followed it is cumbersome to return to the cases (the back button is disabled).

Overall, this book provides an excellent set of cases from well-respected educa-tors in the field at a reasonable price and is a good purchase for nuclear medicine and/or radiology trainees.

Reviewed by Karen A. Kurdziel, MD

tion as an effective radiologist. Present-ing this information in a concise and organized manner greatly facilitates this learning process. Primer of Diag-nostic Imaging, by American radiologists Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, Jack Wit-tenberg, MD, Mukesh G. Harisinghani, MD, and John W. Chen, MD, PhD, is the fifth edition of a book written with this goal in mind.

The book contains 14 chapters. Ten chapters are based on organ systems, one chapter reviews pediatric imaging, one chapter reviews nuclear imaging, and the final two chapters discuss contrast agents and imaging physics. Chapters are organized in a logical manner, com-prehensively but not exhaustively cate-gorizing and discussing disease states. Imaging chapters end with a list of com-mon differential diagnoses.

The authors have done an exemplary job of cataloging a broad array of radio-logic abnormalities in an understandable and succinct manner. This edition has substantially fewer pages than the pre-vious, achieved mostly by organizing typeset into two columns per page. This change in format does not detract from readability and certainly improves por-tability. This edition has addressed mi-nor errors present in the prior edition, has updated pathologic terminology, and has incorporated further advances in magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and computed tomography. Typeset changes, the addi-tion of color, and the use of glossier pa-per have resulted in a more readable and professional appearance compared with previous editions. No major er-rors or omissions are present.

Previous editions of this book have maintained a ubiquitous presence be-neath the arms of bleary-eyed final-year residents preparing for board exami-nations. For many, the book has main-tained its usefulness well beyond exam-

Diagnostic Imaging: Spine, 2nd ed

Jeffrey S. Ross, Kevin R. Moore, Bryson Borg, Julia Crim, and Lubdha M. Shah Philadelphia, Pa: Amirsys, 2010. ISBN 978-1-931884-87-7. Hardcover, $339.00; pp 1000; 3780 figures.

This is an update of the 2004 refer-ence book on diagnostic spine im-aging. It is again organized accord-ing to diagnosis and now includes prose introductory sections and tables, along with 40 new diagnoses. Each topic now starts with the Key Facts box, after which there are introductory illustrations and images followed by bullet-point in-formation under standardized headings, and ends with additional imaging exam-ples. Image quality is even better than in the first edition, and there are more images pertaining to each diagnosis.

The included eBook version includes additional text and images and is search-able by diagnosis. One feature that has disappeared is the thumbnail images of differential diagnoses, which were often quite useful. Unfortunately, the eBook version does not have hyperlinks from the differential diagnosis section to pro-vide quick access to images of these other diagnostic considerations.

Overall, this is a welcome update to an essential radiology reference book for anyone interpreting diagnostic images of the spine.

Reviewed by Jason Shewchuk, MD

ination years as an accessible reference presenting the broad topics encountered in everyday practice clearly and approach-ably. Radiology residents and practicing radiologists will undoubtedly and jus-tifiably follow their predecessors and use this book both during their years of training and in clinical practice.

Reviewed by Michael L. Martin, MD