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Cranial computed tomography: A comprehensive text
522
Surg Neurol
1986;26:522
Book Review
Cranial Computed Tomography: A Comprehensive Text. By Alan L. Williams and Victor M. Haughton. 655 pp. $96.00. St. Louis: T h e C.V. M o s b y Co., 1985.
Cranial Computed Tomography was published 12 years after computed tomography (CT) scanning arrived in the United States, a time when, according to the authors, "an authoritative, up-to-date discussion of CT seems more f e a s i b l e . . , because the refinement of CT technology is nearly complete and clinical experience with CT is extensive." The book consists of 14 chapters, a 29-page index and, by the authors' count, almost 1000 images. Chapters 1 and 2 briefly cover scanning techniques and normal anatomy. Chapters 11 and 12 cover the temporal bones and the orbit. Chapter 14 is devoted to the neonatal brain: the special problems of scanning newborns, the lack of myelination which may mimic disease processes to the unaware, and the special place for ultrasound in infants. The remaining chapters 3 through 10 are "organized by clinical indications for CT study rather than by disease category . . . facilitat(ing) reference and provid(ing) a more readable book than one organized by nosologic categories." These chapters are trauma, vascular diseases, tumors, hydrocephalus and atrophy, white matter and basal ganglia diseases, infectious diseases, congenital anomalies, the posterior fossa, and the sella and juxtasellar regions. Conspicuously absent is a chapter on the nose, paranasal sinuses, and facial bones. Reformatted imaging, three-dimensional reconstruction, and stereotaxy are not discussed. Each chapter begins with an outline of chapter section and paragraph headings, rapidly disclosing the content, organization, and location of topics within the chapter. The text is readable and bibliographic references are sufficiently extensive without the intrusion of a lot of extraneous or unnecessarily qualifying asides. The majority of the images are good quality, high-resolution axial head scans covering a wide variety of well-chosen disease processes. For reasons of aesthetics and space, the images would have benefited from closer cropping. Although patient identifications are not revealed, black tapeovers and extraneous information are evident. Pages 282 and 283 (facing pages, 2 l × 28 cm) contain only four clinical images about 5 × 7 cm in size, filling only 13% and 7% of the available space, respectively. Chapter 4 on vascular diseases, for example, consists of 48 full pages of images in a 60-page chapter. Without reducing the size of the printed images, closer cropping would allow 24 pages of imaging and 12 pages of text, with a 40% reduction in the length of the chapter. While the artwork is of high quality, the illustrated anatomy only occasionally is directly correlated with the adjacent axial CT images. © 1986 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
The content of the text is pertinent, generally accurate, noncontroversial, and authoritative. Occasionally the tone is dogmatic, as on page 267: "The radiologic identification of Binswanger's disease which has no specific therapy is not critical." One thing that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has taught me is that it is possible to distinguish on CT scans between normal pressure hydrocephalus, cerebral atrophy, and Binswanger's disease. One must always remember that accurate diagnosis is necessary before specific therapies can be evaluated. Similarly, I disagree with the statement "venous angioma is a rare intracerebral vascular malformation" (page 136). McCormick et al have shown that venous angiomas are in fact the most common cerebral vascular malformation on careful autopsy studies (J Neurosurg 1968;28:241). I also disagree that only noninfused scans should be the standard examination in suspected ischemic cerebrovascular disease; both noninfused and infused should be performed. Subtle areas of contrast enhancement may be the only indication of pathology. Moreover, 40% of the illustrations ofischemic disease in chapter 4 are infused. The organization by CT indications creates some anomalous situations and reveals editorial inconsistency. The Chiari malformations (and Dandy Walker cyst) are not discussed in the chapter on congenital anomalies but in the posterior fossa chapter. Chiari malformation is listed in the tabular classification of cerebral malformations on page 317, but nowhere in the chapter are we told that Chiari malformations will be discussed in the next chapter. The index unfortunately does not list Chiari malformation. Under the listing Arnold-Chiari malformation, we are referred to page 429 where the boldfaced chapter section heading is "Chiari Malformation." In this section Chiari I is dismissed dogmatically as "relatively benign" and is not illustrated. The sagittal MR image demonstrating Chiari (II?) on page 431 cannot be interpreted at the level of the cerebellar tonsils because the printing is too black. In spite of these minor complaints and disagreements, the authors have succeeded in their stated purposes. Moreover, this text will become a favorite of trainees and fellows in neuroradiology and residents in neurosurgery and neurology preparing for boards. Comprehensive, but not as encyclopedic as Latchaw's multiauthored Computed Tomography of the Head, Neck andSpine (Yearbook, 1985), it maintains readability. Because of the high quality of the images it is recommended over Lee and Rao's popular Cranial Computed Tomography (McGraw-Hill, 1983). I predict that students of neuroradiology will be reading Williams and Haughton for some time to come. MARSHALL R. BALL, M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
0090-3019/86/$3.50
Surg Neurol
1986;26:522
Book Review
Cranial Computed Tomography: A Comprehensive Text. By Alan L. Williams and Victor M. Haughton. 655 pp. $96.00. St. Louis: T h e C.V. M o s b y Co., 1985.
Cranial Computed Tomography was published 12 years after computed tomography (CT) scanning arrived in the United States, a time when, according to the authors, "an authoritative, up-to-date discussion of CT seems more f e a s i b l e . . , because the refinement of CT technology is nearly complete and clinical experience with CT is extensive." The book consists of 14 chapters, a 29-page index and, by the authors' count, almost 1000 images. Chapters 1 and 2 briefly cover scanning techniques and normal anatomy. Chapters 11 and 12 cover the temporal bones and the orbit. Chapter 14 is devoted to the neonatal brain: the special problems of scanning newborns, the lack of myelination which may mimic disease processes to the unaware, and the special place for ultrasound in infants. The remaining chapters 3 through 10 are "organized by clinical indications for CT study rather than by disease category . . . facilitat(ing) reference and provid(ing) a more readable book than one organized by nosologic categories." These chapters are trauma, vascular diseases, tumors, hydrocephalus and atrophy, white matter and basal ganglia diseases, infectious diseases, congenital anomalies, the posterior fossa, and the sella and juxtasellar regions. Conspicuously absent is a chapter on the nose, paranasal sinuses, and facial bones. Reformatted imaging, three-dimensional reconstruction, and stereotaxy are not discussed. Each chapter begins with an outline of chapter section and paragraph headings, rapidly disclosing the content, organization, and location of topics within the chapter. The text is readable and bibliographic references are sufficiently extensive without the intrusion of a lot of extraneous or unnecessarily qualifying asides. The majority of the images are good quality, high-resolution axial head scans covering a wide variety of well-chosen disease processes. For reasons of aesthetics and space, the images would have benefited from closer cropping. Although patient identifications are not revealed, black tapeovers and extraneous information are evident. Pages 282 and 283 (facing pages, 2 l × 28 cm) contain only four clinical images about 5 × 7 cm in size, filling only 13% and 7% of the available space, respectively. Chapter 4 on vascular diseases, for example, consists of 48 full pages of images in a 60-page chapter. Without reducing the size of the printed images, closer cropping would allow 24 pages of imaging and 12 pages of text, with a 40% reduction in the length of the chapter. While the artwork is of high quality, the illustrated anatomy only occasionally is directly correlated with the adjacent axial CT images. © 1986 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
The content of the text is pertinent, generally accurate, noncontroversial, and authoritative. Occasionally the tone is dogmatic, as on page 267: "The radiologic identification of Binswanger's disease which has no specific therapy is not critical." One thing that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has taught me is that it is possible to distinguish on CT scans between normal pressure hydrocephalus, cerebral atrophy, and Binswanger's disease. One must always remember that accurate diagnosis is necessary before specific therapies can be evaluated. Similarly, I disagree with the statement "venous angioma is a rare intracerebral vascular malformation" (page 136). McCormick et al have shown that venous angiomas are in fact the most common cerebral vascular malformation on careful autopsy studies (J Neurosurg 1968;28:241). I also disagree that only noninfused scans should be the standard examination in suspected ischemic cerebrovascular disease; both noninfused and infused should be performed. Subtle areas of contrast enhancement may be the only indication of pathology. Moreover, 40% of the illustrations ofischemic disease in chapter 4 are infused. The organization by CT indications creates some anomalous situations and reveals editorial inconsistency. The Chiari malformations (and Dandy Walker cyst) are not discussed in the chapter on congenital anomalies but in the posterior fossa chapter. Chiari malformation is listed in the tabular classification of cerebral malformations on page 317, but nowhere in the chapter are we told that Chiari malformations will be discussed in the next chapter. The index unfortunately does not list Chiari malformation. Under the listing Arnold-Chiari malformation, we are referred to page 429 where the boldfaced chapter section heading is "Chiari Malformation." In this section Chiari I is dismissed dogmatically as "relatively benign" and is not illustrated. The sagittal MR image demonstrating Chiari (II?) on page 431 cannot be interpreted at the level of the cerebellar tonsils because the printing is too black. In spite of these minor complaints and disagreements, the authors have succeeded in their stated purposes. Moreover, this text will become a favorite of trainees and fellows in neuroradiology and residents in neurosurgery and neurology preparing for boards. Comprehensive, but not as encyclopedic as Latchaw's multiauthored Computed Tomography of the Head, Neck andSpine (Yearbook, 1985), it maintains readability. Because of the high quality of the images it is recommended over Lee and Rao's popular Cranial Computed Tomography (McGraw-Hill, 1983). I predict that students of neuroradiology will be reading Williams and Haughton for some time to come. MARSHALL R. BALL, M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
0090-3019/86/$3.50