British Journal of Radiology (2003) 76, 843-844
© 2003 British Institute of Radiology
doi:
Textbook of radiology and imaging, Vols 1 & 2 (7th edn). Edited by D Sutton, pp. 1856, 2003 (Elsevier Science Ltd, Edinburgh, UK), £275.00 ISBN 0 443 071098
A Jackson
Being asked to review Sutton's Textbook of radiology and imaging was yet another life event that made me feel my age. This was my preferred textbook when I was a student and it remains a superb standard textbook of radiology. I will say in advance that I would recommend this book to anybody working in the field of general radiology and as a standard reference for clinicians who need to review or work with radiographic investigations in their practice.
This book is sizeable with two large volumes, split into six sections, which are the respiratory system; cardiovascular system; abdomen and gastrointestinal tract; genitourinary tract; skeletal system; and a section on head and neck, CNS and recent technical advances. There are also a series of appendices that provide useful information including maps of the centres of ossification and a glossary of both MR and CT terms and common radiopharmaceuticals that are available for imaging purposes. These appendices are well thought out and prepared and do de-mystify some of the technological terminology for the radiologist and other readers.
Within each of the sections there are a number of separate chapters giving a total of 59 chapters in the entire textbook, these are typically ranged by disease group and specific methodology. Each of the chapters is well structured with clear headings allowing easy access to reference data for any individual disease. The book is well indexed, which is of considerable importance in a book of this type. Equally important is the quality of the image reproduction, which is consistently excellent throughout the book and this, combined with the excellent clinical examples makes each of the chapters a pleasure to read.
I will not comment on individual chapters except to say that all of the ones that I have read impressed me in that they are comprehensive, clearly written, well structured and excellently illustrated.
A trainee radiologist is often faced with a choice as to which of the basic textbooks they should buy. A trainee is going to have to read the whole book from cover to cover and I have no hesitation in recommending Sutton as a basis for their studies. There is also no doubt that it should be on the bookshelf of all departments of radiology as a standard and seminal reference text. The authors and editors are to be congratulated on maintaining the tradition of this excellent standard textbook.
