British Journal of Radiology 75 (2002),857 © 2002 The British Institute of Radiology
CT of the Peritoneum. By A Rossi and G Rossi, pp. xv+409, 2001 (Springer-Verlag, London), £154 ISBN 3-540-41400-2
J F Olliff
This is the book for the radiologist who desires an in-depth knowledge of the peritoneum. The first four chapters cover the anatomy and physiology of the peritoneum with many line diagrams, CT scans and angiograms being used to illustrate this complex topic. My major criticism of this part of the book is the labelling of these illustrations, which is not intuitive, for example "rsves" is used to indicate left suprahepatic recess. Although there is a key to abbreviations at the front of the book, I found it very irritating to flick backwards and forwards when trying to understand the many diagrams. The text also uses terms that are uncommon in my everyday practice, for example coronarostomachic artery for the left gastric artery. Perhaps this reflects a lack of a classical medical education on my part! Having explained this, however, the reader will immediately find these early chapters much easier to understand than I did. I am also used to using the Japanese system of lymph node stations; there would be a breakdown in communication with my clinicians if I used the nomenclature in this book.
The second section of the book is devoted to primary and secondary pathology of the peritoneum. Fluid collections are discussed in some detail, with a section on the signs used to differentiate small pleural fluid collections from collections in the subphrenic recesses. I felt that Dwyer's sign could have been discussed a little more fully and that line diagrams, as when the authors describe collections in relation to the renal fascial planes, may have been helpful. Good chapters follow on acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, trauma, abdominal herniae, cysts and tumours.
The book is extremely well illustrated, reflecting the authors wide experience. It is difficult to read in places, which is largely owing to the use of English by Italian authors. Sentences such as "The spleen never shows age appropriate dimensions" left me puzzled. Did this mean that the spleen was large or small? The authors also seem to contradict themselves on several occasions with discrepancies between text and illustrations. In a section describing chronic lymphatic leukemia the authors state that the lymph nodes appear to be enlarged but never in a conspicuous manner, yet a figure used to illustrate this condition has some of the biggest nodes that I have encountered and the legend states that there is conspicuous volumetric increment of almost all the lymph nodes.
However, these are minor criticisms of a book that was a very worthwhile read for me as a cross-sectional imager. In some respects I found looking at the abundant images more enjoyable than the read itself. It deserves a place in the departmental library if you feel that you cannot justify buying it for yourself.
