During the past decade radiology has widened its boundaries to include isotope imaging, diagnostic ultrasound and, more recently, computerized tomography. The Current Concepts series of books sets out to bridge the gap between the current journals and the more formal textbooks. A selection has been made of those subjects which the editor considers to be most significant and to form the growing edge of the field.
About one-quarter of the book is given over to various aspects of computerized tomography. The quality of the image obtainable and the various methods of displaying the information are discussed. There is a non-mathematical description of the newer developments in computerized tomography and the way in which the computer is being used to reconstruct images from multiple projections obtained not only by transmitted X-rays but also by positron-emitting isotopes and heavy ions. Another chapter compares computerized tomography of the abdomen and the aorta with the information obtained by isotope imaging.
It is possible only to mention a few of the other subjects discussed. The radiological detection of breast cancer is dealt with in some detail, with particular emphasis being paid to xeroradiography. Metabolic considerations in bone disease and some of the more recent concepts of hormonal control of bone production and resorption are discussed. Professor Bjorn Nordenstrom describes his technique of electrocoagulation of some small lung tumours.
Conventional radiology is represented by chapters on the radiological diagnosis of pleural effusions and the significance of linear shadows in chest radiographs. The opening chapter on 'Information systems in departmental operations' is written in the kind of jargon and tortured English which the reviewer has come to associate with papers dealing with the use of computers in management. The authors indicate solutions to many problems commonly seen in radiology departments but fail to make a clear distinction between what is theoretically possible and what has been shown to work in practice. The final chapter deals with an evaluation of the effectiveness and the cost of the screening tests used in the diagnosis of systemic hypertension.
No reader is likely to be interested in all the subjects covered in this book and yet almost all must find something of real value. It is a book for browsing in rather than for reading from cover to cover.