K Sartor S Haehnel B Kress 2008, Georg Thieme, Verlag300pp.

‘Brain Imaging’ is published as one of a series of twelve Direct Diagnosis in Radiology (Dx-Direct) Thieme books, covering the main subspecialities in radiology. The other volumes cover gastrointestinal, cardiac, breast, genitourinary, vascular, spinal, head and neck, musculoskeletal, pediatric, thoracic and interventional radiology. The present volume, ‘Brain Imaging’, provides essentially a compendium of cases commonly encountered by (neuro) radiologists in their daily practice. It can be thought of as a ‘survival guide’ for the uninitiated, or as an introduction to neuroradiology. Each condition or disease entity is presented with illustrative images and a concise text, providing a quick reference. The authors are experienced and well-respected neuroradiologists from the University of Heidelberg (K Sartor and S Haehnel) and from the Hospital Nordwest in Frankfurt am Main.

‘Brain Imaging’ is published as a soft cover, in a pocket book format. The print quality (on glossy paper) is excellent, with an attractive and easy-to-use layout. Chapter and section headings are in white print on a dark blue background. The book is divided into 13 chapters, which cover the main topics in brain imaging: trauma (chapter 1), inflammation (chapter 2), aneurysms (chapter 3), vascular malformations (chapter 4), stroke (chapter 5), tumors (chapter 6), cysts (chapter 7), meninges (chapter 8), ventricles and cisterns (chapter 9), leukoencephalopathies (chapter 10), congenital malformations (chapter 11), artifacts in magnetic resonance imaging (chapter 12) and postoperative changes (chapter 13). At the end of the book, there is an alphabetical index, which is comprehensive and easy to use. Each major chapter is subdivided into sections that describe a specific condition or disease. For each section, the authors provide a definition (what it is, including epidemiology, embryology, pathophysiology and pathogenesis), a description of the imaging signs on different modalities, a brief review of clinical aspects, a differential diagnosis, tips and pitfalls and a few references. The book is abundantly illustrated and nicely documents the crucial role of imaging in the diagnosis of brain lesions.

Overall, I enjoyed using this book, and was able to navigate quickly and efficiently through the various chapters. The book is logically organized, well-structured and well-written. The quality of the illustrations is generally good. Some chapters contain nice schematic drawings (for example chapter 4 on vascular malformations). Most of the cross-sectional images are straightforward computed tomography scans and standard magnetic resonance images. Somewhat to my regret, the book contains relatively few examples of newer imaging techniques, such as volumetric computed tomography scanning, computed tomography angiography, perfusion imaging, susceptibility-weighted imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging or diffusion tensor imaging with fiber tracking. Admittedly, some of these techniques are still in the investigational phase, but others are rapidly becoming part of routine daily practice in neuroradiology. However, given the extremely rapid evolution of technical developments in neuroradiology in recent years, this drawback is probably unavoidable, and inherent to a fast-changing field. I was somewhat disappointed by the references that the authors provide at the end of each subsection; though they certainly cite landmark papers, many references are (too) old, and certainly there are newer and comprehensive reference articles available for many topics. However, these minor drawbacks can easily be remedied should the authors decide to publish a second edition.

To summarize, I greatly enjoyed being given the opportunity to review this handy and easy-to-use book. I am convinced that ‘Brain Imaging’ will prove to be of great value to radiology residents during their neuroradiology rotation, as well as to neuroradiology fellows, and in preparing for Board examinations. Even experienced and senior neuroradiologists will find ‘Brain Imaging’ useful as a quick reference. The strong points far outweigh the drawbacks, and I am convinced that this book will be successful. I would like to congratulate the authors, K Sartor, S Haehnel and B Kress, for a job well done.