HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chaudhuri, T. K. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Chaudhuri, T. K.

Textbook of Nuclear Medicine

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, Texas

Michael A. Wilson, Editor

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1997, 656 pages, $129.00

This hard-covered 656-page book, with high-quality pictures and page print, is authored by 25 individuals, many of whom are well known in the field of nuclear medicine. The book is divided into 3 main sections with 10 chapters each, an 8-page appendix that includes international units, dose adjustment monogram, and abbreviations, and 26 pages of subject index.

The first section deals with general clinical nuclear medicine, particularly the 10 most common nuclear medicine imaging practices. The authors have included in each chapter a brief history, use rates, and a short description of each clinical imaging procedure as well as clinical indications. The basic information on specific radiopharmaceuticals and dosimetry has been kept to a minimum but it is at a level appropriate for day-to-day practice.

The second section of 10 chapters deals with pediatrics, bone dosimetry, organ transplant, nonthyroid endocrine, labeled antibodies, AIDS, clinical PET, nonendocrine therapy, deep vein thrombosis, and nonimmunoassay tests. The authors have created very concise summaries to contain these expanding areas of nuclear medicine in only 112 pages; however, this should not be the only textbook for the nuclear medicine student, practitioner, or scientist. It should be noted that the editor clearly writes in the preface that "Because nearly 70% of all Nuclear Medicine Imaging is performed by physicians not certified in Nuclear Medicine, this textbook is primarily designed to assist them." With this approach in mind, this book could have been named Textbook of Nuclear Imaging.

In the third section, 7 of the 10 chapters make a brief but very important and fundamental reference to radioactive decay, radiopharmaceuticals, radiation detection, emission tomography, fourier mathematics and filters, radioimmunoassay and immunoradiometric assay, and biologic effects of radiation. The next 2 chapters in this section discuss quality improvement and Nuclear Regulatory Commission license application. The final chapter, which is 76 pages in length and deals with clinical protocol, enumerates most commonly used nuclear medicine current procedural terminology (CPT) codes and describes them in detail (e.g., indications, patient preparation, radiopharmaceutical, dose, procedure, and limitation). The "Clinical Protocol" chapter alone is an easy reference for every practitioner of nuclear medicine imaging.

In conclusion, I recommend this book for nuclear radiology residents and fellows as well as for nuclear imaging practitioners as a quick reference. However, for the nuclear medicine resident, fellow, and practitioner, this book should be supplemented with more thorough and elaborate text books and journals. Radiologists and other physicians who are more peripherally involved in nuclear medicine will benefit greatly from this book, gaining insight into how and when to include nuclear medicine imaging in their practice.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chaudhuri, T. K. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Chaudhuri, T. K.