T. Hartman, ed.
Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2011, 224 pages, $99
Differentiation of normal variants from rare diseases may be difficult on thoracic imaging, and a really concise book on that topic is lacking. Therefore, this book was designed to fill that niche, giving guidance for identifying normal variants that can be ignored and showing pathognomonic images of rare diseases. However, this is not a book of exhaustive differentials for nonspecific findings or a book to teach how to interpret common disease findings on chest CT.
The 12 sections comprise 86 cases (9 of the airways, 17 of the lung parenchyma, 8 of the mediastinum, 8 of the esophagus, 9 of the aorta, 10 of the vessels, 4 of the pericardium, 4 of the pleura, 2 of the diaphragm, 3 of the lymphatics, 7 involving PET/CT, and 5 involving artifacts). Each case has a descriptive image, a discussion of the importance of the case and the typical clinical scenario, and a differential diagnosis. The teaching point of the case is highlighted before a list of recent references is presented. The images in the 212 figures are excellent and illustrative.
The image-rich text is laid out such that a reader facing a potential abnormality simply locates the section of the book that covers the pertinent region and then looks for an image in that section that matches the finding. Once a matching image is found, the reader can refer to the heading to see what the diagnosis is. Written by leading thoracic radiologists with concise descriptions, the book enables identification of normal variants and provides pathognomonic images of rare diseases to help make that one-in-a-million diagnosis.
This book is for the practicing radiologist or radiology resident who is reviewing an examination and has a specific question about a normal variant or about an abnormal finding that may be due to an artifact or rare disease. Trainees and practitioners in thoracic medicine and surgery will also benefit from this book.
Footnotes
Published online Nov. 12, 2012.
- © 2013 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.