Category Archives: Books Briefly Noted

Gasco J, Nader R. The Essential Neurosurgery Companion. Thieme; 2012; 1072 pgs.; 209 illustrations; $99.99.

The Essential Neurosurgery Companion is a 100-page soft cover book, edited by two neurosurgeons from the University of Texas, Galveston (Drs. Gasco and Nader), with contributions from 3 contributing editors and 29 other authors. It is written with the neurosurgical trainee in mind, but others in neuroscience fields can relate to much of the information contained in the book.

There are 20 major sections, which deal with nearly all aspects of neurosurgery, and do so in an interesting and provocative way. That is, multiple … Continue reading >>

Chapman JR, Lee MJ, Hermsmeyer JT, et al. Measurements in Spine Care. Thieme; 2012; 384 pgs.; 228 illustrations; $199.99.

This text Measurements in Spine Care is written primarily for clinicians involved with spine patients (orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons), along with those in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as well as nursing staff. While most of the book (368 pages) deals with clinical, laboratory, electrophysical, and pulmonary measurements, a sizeable part of the book (in fact, half of it) deals with radiographic measurements. This covers (just to name a few) measurements useful in assessing the craniovertebral junction, AA rotation, spinal diameters/stenosis, … Continue reading >>

Valji K, ed. The Practice of Interventional Radiology (With Online Cases and Videos). Elsevier Saunders; 2012; 784 pages; $199.00.

This is a general interventional radiology book covering all of vascular and non-vascular interventional procedures.  Written by Tony Smith of Duke, the 30-page chapter on neurointerventions is new since the 2006 edition. First, it briefly covers neurovascular anatomy, and then discusses clinical and procedural aspects and extra- and intra-atherosclerotic disease.  Then acute stroke is covered, with appropriate weight given to patient triage and IV t-PA therapy.  Indications for embolization and other endovascular therapies are discussed, including tumor embolization, epistaxis, and head … Continue reading >>

Swischuk LE. Imaging of the Cervical Spine in Children. Second Ed. Springer; 2013; 110 pages; 147 illustrations; $139.00.

The second edition of Dr. Swischuk’s Imaging of the Cervical Spine in Children is a short (110 pages) monograph on the oft confusing subject of the radiology of the childhood cervical spine. The images and legends make the points raised in the body of the body understandable; all are germane to the practice of neuroradiology. In many places the book is written in a conversational manner, such as when Dr. Swischuk discusses the os terminale-os odontordeum complex and says, “I have … Continue reading >>

Keats TE, Anderson MW, eds. Atlas of Normal Roentgen Variants That May Simulate Disease. Ninth Ed. Elsevier Saunders; 2012; 816 pages; $299.00.

The newest edition (9^th edition) of Keat’s classic textbook Atlas of Normal Roentgen Variants that May Stimulate Disease is now available. It is a slimmer version (816 pages) than the 7^th edition (1184 pages published in 2001). The book comes with a scratch-off code supposedly to be used to access additional images. Any buyer of this text should be aware of the fact that with this ExpertConsult.com site, when this reviewer attempted to access it, … Continue reading >>

Biller J. Practical Neurology. Fourth Ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012; 747 pages; $99.00.

For those radiologists who have a robust practice in neurological imaging, it is important to have a ready resource related to clinical neurology. This 747-page softcover  book is written in outline form and comprises 2 sections: “Diagnosis” and “Treatment.” The section on diagnosis  has 35 chapters, each dealing with separate conditions. Examples are aphasia, dysarthria, hearing loss, etc. Each chapter follows a varying but somewhat similar pattern with, in general, the following parts: etiology, clinical manifestation, evaluation, differential diagnosis, diagnostic approach, and recommended reading. Each … Continue reading >>

Gilroy AM, MacPherson BR, Ross LM, eds. Atlas of Anatomy. Second Edition. Thieme 2012, 704 pages, 2200 illustrations, $79.99.

The second edition of Atlas of Anatomy contains exquisite artist drawings of detailed anatomy of the entire body. Of particular interest to neuroradiologists who wish to review critical anatomy would be the 144 pages on head and neck anatomy, and the areas of the book dealing with the brachial plexus and lumbosacral plexus. A strong anatomic review of the spine, its contents, and vascular supply/drainage is present. Of course, for other non-neuro areas of the body, the drawings are equally … Continue reading >>

Singh K, Vaccaro AR. Pocket Atlas of Spine Surgery. Thieme 2012, 152 pages, $64.99.

The book is organized in 23 chapters according to commonly performed surgical procedures. The majority of the book contains intraoperative pictures that have been nicely illustrated and augmented by on-lay drawings to further clarify anatomical points and landmarks. There is a minimum of text, but the text is excellent in further describing anatomical features.

The publication in general would be helpful for neuroradiology audience so that they could better understand the sometimes limited anatomical views that surgeons who operate on the spine are faced with. It … Continue reading >>

Borden NM, Forseen SE. Pattern Recognition Neuroradiology. Cambridge University Press 2011,354 pages, 718 illustrations, $79.

With more than 700 images and concise, well written text, this book is recommended mainly for junior residents rotating through neuroradiology, and for neurologists and neurology residents.  The text could also be useful for the boarded radiologist looking for a quick refresher in neuroradiology.

It is organized with two main sections: the first is the brain, with brief mention of head and neck lesions, and the second is the spine.  Each of these sections is divided in the following manner: first, there is a chapter … Continue reading >>

Roos KL, ed. Emergency Neurology.  Springer 2012, 394 pages, 81 illustrations, $149.

This 394-page hardcover book is directed primarily at junior level neurologists and emergency room physicians, and as a result, the chapters contain only minimal information which would be of value to neuroradiologists. As you think about it, much of what we do on a daily basis, particularly in a large medical center, could be considered emergency neurology, or at the minimum, urgent radiology. Although this book is easy to read it fails to convey anything beyond the most elementary aspects of the neurological conditions being considered.

The … Continue reading >>