Abstract
This book is organized in 13 parts and comprises a total of 28 chapters. The first part is dedicated to imaging techniques in the adult spine with the focus on MRI, and less with CT. The next three parts are of normal paraspinal structures, spinal column and cord. These first 144 pages are very useful and informative, and form a basis for understanding the imaging strategies of the spine, since to understand the pathology, one has to know what is normal. The next eight parts comprise different spinal pathology. Normal spinal aging and degeneration, ischemia, trauma, vascular malformations, cyst and tumors, metabolic conditions, infection and inflammation are thoroughly presented. The next last part is dedicated to operative considerations, and imaging preparation for surgery, intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring vertebroplasty and various surgical complications are presented. The last part, with three chapters, is dedicated to rather challenging imaging targets, i.e. brachial and sacral plexus as well as peripheral nerve imaging. The text throughout the book is easy to follow, and is clinically oriented which makes the book useful in clinical practice. Pediatric spine imaging is, however, not included, but it is covered in a companion volume on pediatric neuroimaging.
The book is rich in well-selected images. Imaging modalities include MRI, CT plain radiographs, nuclear medicine and ultrasound and DSA. Gross anatomy and histological images are well presented. The image quality is generally good or excellent, and the captions informative. However, in some images (e.g. Figs. 15-25, 15-100) the proportions are somewhat distorted, but without information loss. Most chapters have one or more boxes addressing the key points, which is a useful feature for a quick reference. Also, the authors have provided sample reports to show how to communicate with clinicians and how to put essential information into words. This is a good feature and especially useful to radiology residents. Each chapter has selected pertinent papers for those in need for an in-depth approach. These papers and the references are well selected and up-to-date.
This book also comes with a full text online, including all of the books illustrations and links to PubMed for referencing. The online feature fits well for quick search. The registration process is simple and quick, and the online version runs smoothly and is easy to use. Illustrations are of good quality on screen.
Imaging of the Spine is a welcome new publication. The coherent presentation and outstanding images makes this book highly recommended reading for every radiologist encountered with spine imaging.