Imaging of diseases of the chest

This is the fi fth edition of the book Imaging of Diseases of the Chest. Twenty years has passed since the fi rst edition. At that time, Professor Peter Armstrong from London was considered the “ inspiration and driving force. ” In this fi fth edition his name is no longer on the front page. However, as pointed out by the present four authors in the Acknowledgements, “ We have tried our best to emulate his lucid writing style. ” In my opinion, the authors have managed to fulfi l this glorious duty. As a charmed listener to lectures by Peter Armstrong, I certainly do experience his presence in this fantastic book regardless of whether he is in the author list or not! This book contains 17 chapters with almost the same headings as in the previous edition (comparisons in the following text are limited to the fourth edition). The total number of pages is almost kept the same, 1197 compared to 1220. Nevertheless, the total thickness of the book has decreased from 61 mm to 54 mm. The total number of references is about 10 000 and has increased by about 500. Each chapter starts with a summary of the subheadings. The graphical design of these introductions has improved but I still miss page references here. The different chapters are color-coded, which helps a lot when browsing for a certain chapter. The fi rst chapter deals with Technical considerations . It has been expanded from 21 pages, 224 references, and 37 images to 32 pages, 248 references, and 78 images (in 27 fi gures). The text has been almost completely rewritten, with the addition of a section about PET. Novel applications of digital chest radiography, for example, tomosyntes, are mentioned in a new section. In all, 76 of the 78 fi gures are new and of considerably increased image quality. The second chapter deals with The normal chest . The number of pages and references are almost the same but the number of fi gures has increased from 87 to 112. Fortunately, some of my favorite fi gures have been kept; for example, the set of six beautiful conventional bronchographies (Fig. 2.6), illustrations of hilar structures on coned-down radiographs (Figs. 2.11, 2.13, 2.14), and pulmonary veins and arteries shown by pulmonary angiography (Fig. 2.10). Images based on radiography, CT, and diagrammatic illustrations and more are mixed in a natural and pedagogical order aimed at facilitating the understanding of the complex anatomy. Knowledge of the normal anatomy as illustrated on chest radiography or CT is among the fi rst steps for the residents trying to become absorbed in thoracic radiology. This chapter is clearly helpful. The third chapter deals with Basic patterns in lung disease . Very little has been changed in this useful chapter. Thereby, the image quality is not optimal but this is compensated by the plentiful illustrations. A nice change from the expression “ shadow ” to the somewhat more clarifying “ opacities ” is noted. My personal, and almost only, problem with this book starts in this chapter: why are the radiograph lateral views randomly presented with the spine to the left or the right? For my rigid brain it is not possible to mentally fl ip the images. I wish for consistency in this regard in the sixth edition! (And please choose the spine to the right!) The fourth chapter deals with Basic HRCT patterns of lung disease . The big news in this chapter is the reproduction of the entire and latest version of the Fleischner Society ’ s glossary of terms for thoracic imaging. This comprises 17 pages of compact text combined with small, but high-quality, images. To easily fi nd this section these pages are the only ones color-marked on the long side! It is very convenient to have this glossary in the book. The fi fth chapter deals with Infections of the lung and pleura . The structure and contents are mostly the same. Seventy-fi ve pages including 158 fi gures give the reader an insight into imaging of a wide variety of infections. The sixth chapter deals with The immunocompromised patient . The number of references has increased from 541 to 709 and refl ects the development in this area. The abundance of images, partly new ones, in the 115 fi gures together with a doubled number of boxes with summaries make this chapter really valuable in a complicated area, defi nitely one of my favorites. This edition of the book is equipped with a yellow silk ribbon; mine is usually positioned in this chapter! I would especially like to point out the practical tool in Box 6.3 “ Pulmonary complications of HIV/AIDS related to CD4 lymphocyte count ” and the beautiful illustration of the value of imaging follow-up with high-quality radiographs (Fig. 6.9). It is pointed out that P. jirovecii (formerly named P. carinii ) is now regarded as a fungus. The seventh chapter deals with Pulmonary vascular diseases and pulmonary edema . In the disposition of this chapter an interesting change is noted: among the fi ve imaging modalities for pulmonary thromboembolism, CT (CTPA) has climbed from fourth to second place. The order of presentation is chest radiography