| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book review |
Volume 1
This major gastrointestinal (GI) textbook is divided into two volumes. The first volume deals almost exclusively with the hollow viscera. It is very heavily orientated towards barium radiology of the gut, and it has to be said that this aspect of the text is superb. There are profuse illustrations of essentially all pathologies that might be encountered.
The use of CT and other sectional imaging techniques in evaluation of the hollow viscera is well addressed in some chapters, in particular those dealing with colon cancer and with Crohn's disease.
The book had been updated from the previous edition with an excellent chapter on endoscopic ultrasound of the upper GI tract. However, I was disappointed to find no reference to endo-anal ultrasound for the evaluation of anal sphincters and fistulae. Indeed, the anus appears not to be recognized as part of the GI tract in this textbook, with no reference in the index to anal fistulae or imaging thereof. There is a short chapter on GI scintigraphy dealing predominantly with transit studies. It is very surprising, however, to find no reference to the use of radioisotope-labelled white cell scanning.
This book has already seen use as a benchbook in our offices, particularly when less common conditions are encountered. Although there are a few lacunae, as detailed above, that should have been addressed in this 2nd edition, the book remains a superb work of reference and, from the point of view of whole of the viscera, can be recommended for the barium radiology alone.
Volume 2
The second volume of this two-volume edition concentrates on the solid viscera, peritoneal cavity, omentum, abdominal wall and paediatric diseases.
The introductory chapters to this volume describe general radiological principles for imaging and intervention of the solid viscera and briefly describe the role of CT, ultrasound, MRI and scintigraphy. These chapters offer a general overview, with the main meat of GI cross-sectional imaging being obtained in the sections devoted to each organ.
The following chapter describes the technique of percutaneous biopsy, discussing the choice of imaging modality and then discussing specific organ-related techniques in greater detail. This would be a useful chapter for the relatively inexperienced interventional radiologist but I suspect has little to offer radiologists who routinely perform these procedures.
The volume then discusses, in turn, the gall bladder and biliary tract, the liver, the pancreas and the spleen. Each organ or system is divided into sections with the normal anatomy and examination techniques being described. There is inevitably some repetition of the introductory chapters in these sections. Anomalies and anatomic variants are described and then the pathologies discussed. There is excellent detail throughout this volume on all systems, with comprehensive descriptions of aetiology, clinical presentation, pathology and imaging findings. The sections are well illustrated and very well referenced. Each organ system and the pathologies affecting that organ are discussed in fairly great detail and to a more than adequate depth for even the specialist radiologist. The book is easy to read and well laid out, with good use of tables and line diagrams.
The last but one section concentrates on paediatric diseases, with an initial chapter on applied embryology of the GI tract followed by GI examinations as applied to the child. Further chapters discuss neonatal GI radiology and the diseases affecting the paediatric oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, small bowel and colon. Disease affecting the paediatric solid organs are discussed with some inevitable replication of the preceding chapters.
The remaining sections of the book deal with common clinical problems, such as imaging of the acute abdomen, discussing the roles of CT and ultrasound. Chapters are then devoted to foreign bodies in the alimentary tract, the investigation of GI haemorrhage, iatrogenic GI disorders and, finally, abdominal trauma.
This volume will prove invaluable to any general or GI radiologist of whatever level. The book can be read at differing levels; it can either be used a reference book or can be used to obtain references to read certain subjects to an even greater depth. Although its price may preclude it being on every shelf, there should be at least one copy within each radiology department for reference.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| BJR | DMFR | IMAGING | ALL BIR JOURNALS |
