British Journal of Radiology (2008) 81, 679
© 2008 British Institute of Radiology
doi:
Diagnostic Imaging of the Hand. Edited by R Schmitt and U Lanz. pp. 608, 2008 (Thieme Publishing Group, Stuttgart, Germany and Thieme New York, New York, USA), 
179.95 ISBN 978-3-13-140581-4
L DIANKOV
For most radiologists, an encounter with a diagnostic problem related to hand disorders is frequent. This topic has been served by many publications. The raison d'être for a new book on imaging of the hand is a need for current guidelines based on perfect knowledge of the problem, personal experience and an interdisciplinary approach.
Diagnostic Imaging of the Hand is written by competent specialists and edited by two recognized experts in the field — Rainer Schmitt and Ulrich Lanz. According to the preface, the goal of the team is to correlate radiological signs of hand disease with the underlying pathoanatomy, the clinical presentation and the therapeutic options. The book is intended to help clinicians to understand the many possible interpretations of modern imaging and also to provide radiologists with clinical information for the correct implementation and interpretation of resulting images.
The book is composed of four main sections and 62 chapters. Section I (Chapters 1–9) deals with the examining modalities. The authors have succeeded in presenting a large spectrum of methods. The text considers the role of all of the recent imaging techniques from conventional X-rays, through to special radiographic procedures, and finally to multidetector CT, with two-dimensional displays and three-dimensional reconstructions, and contrast-enhanced MRI with multichannel phased-array coils. Section II (Chapters 10–16) is dedicated to the anatomical and functional foundation of hand imaging, with variants and malformations included. In Section III (Chapters 17–48), all important pathological entities of the hand are discussed in a nosological manner. Following the definition, pathogenesis and clinical symptoms, the diagnostic imaging of each disease is explained systematically. The idea of including a chapter entitled "Postsurgical Radiography" is an example of broad vision and contributes to the completeness of the work. The final Section IV, with differential diagnostic tables (Chapters 49–62), presents rare entities according to their symptoms in keywords and with cross references to the relevant figures.
The book provides an up-to-date overview of all aspects of imaging of the hand. The level of scientific content is high. The individual chapters are well structured and contain valuable information. Numerous (1160) high-quality illustrations allow better recognition and comparison of the details. An extended list of well-selected references appends each chapter. The printing quality and layout are perfect.
The authors, as well the editors, can be proud of their achievement. I strongly recommend this excellent book not only to radiologists but also to physicians in many disciplines who deal with pathological alterations of the hand.
