308 C L I N I C A L R A D I O L O G Y

Book Reviews

Cardiac Imaging in Infants and Children. By Michael J. Kelly, C. Carl Jaffe and Charles S. Kleinman. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1982. 441 pp. £41.

Congenital heart disease is such a spectrum of pathologies, most of which are radiologically demonstrable, that it is always a pleasure to read a volume such as this in which the illustrations are of a good standard. Special mention must be made of the excellent real-time and M-mode echocardiograms and the simple diagrams that assist their interpretation. The radiographs are taken from a long-established library, a factor that helps to maintain quality by the inclusion of cut-film angiograms, which are easier to reproduce than frames from cine angiograms.

The book is in two sections. The first, which describes normal anatomy and techniques of imaging, includes a nice section on nuclear cardiology. The second section describes the pathologies, dividing them into four large chapters based upon the various combinations of cyanosis or not, and plethoric or normal/oligaemic lung fields. Within these cate- gories, the pathologies are described in self-contained sub- sections, so that quick reference to individual topics can be made. However, this does not conceal the errors, some unforced, to which this layout is prone. Totally anomalous pulmonary venous drainage, for example, is found in two chapters; it is initially quoted as presenting as an acyanotic neonate without increased pulmonary vascularity, which is simply untrue.

These problems of classification, together with a number of detail errors, reduce the book to the role of occasional reference as far as a general library is concerned. Specialists will enjoy it but the cardiac trainee must not take it asgospel.

John Partridge

Diagnostic Echocardiography. Edited by Joseph W. Linhart and Claude R. Joyner. C. V. Mosby Co., London, 1982. 373 pp. £39.00.

Twenty authors, mainly American, contribute to the 15 chapters of this well-produced volume. Each chapter stands alone; they are all well illustrated and referenced. The early sections review M-mode echocardiography and include a very useful chapter on the effects o f conduction abnor- malities by Hagan and DiSessa, a comprehensible review by our own Derek Gibson o f his functional analyses of cardiac echoes, and a critical review of M-mode limitations by McDonald from Melbourne. The second half deals first with two-dimensional real-time scanning and ends with chapters on the cardiomyopathies and on the relationship between M-mode and '2DRT' techniques. The reader will have a well- balanced view of the art at the finish.

There are the usual problems of a multi-author book; topics are of ten scattered (various aspects o f aortic stenosis are found in five chapters) and there is some repetition. For such a rapidly expanding subject the text is quite well up to date; the two-dimensional chapters will fare less well with t ime than the M-mode chapters. The main oddity of the book is the historical sequence of M-mode first, which makes the reader have to discover for himself that the way to do an echo examination is 2D first, M-mode last. Indeed, the layout is what you might expect from an updated text originally confined to M-mode but , in fact, this is the first edition.

None of the authors is a radiologist, so a little fun can be had in reading that the request card for an echo must con- taln adequate clinical information. A radiological dusting would have helped a little with Fig. 4 - 2 8 , which is LPO, not lateral, and with the two left-ventricular angiogrmns in which mitral valve prolapse is incorrectly arrowed. Larger sections on ischaemic heart disease and prosthetic valves would have been welcome. There is little else to fault.

In conclusion, this book is a very sound introduction to the subject and I can recommend it to all radiologists who are regularly exposed to cardiac pathology (which is, at present, not many).

J. B. Partridge

A Colour Atlas of F o o t and Ankle Anatomy. By R. M. H. MeMinn, R. T. Hutchings and B. M. Logan. Wolfe Medical Publications, London, 1982.96 pp. £12.

After a brief introduct ion illustrating the whole lower limb this atlas illustrates successively surface landmarks, bone structure and anatomical dissections of the soft tissue. It includes anatomical cross-sections and an appendix, detailing attachments, actions and innervations of the relevant muscles. A few radiographs are included, but it is a pity that the opportuni ty to produce radiographs beside the pictures of the individual bones was missed. Not only would this have made the atlas of more interest to radiologists but it would have emphasised the value of radiographic anatomy to the surgeon. The possibility of including CT in a future edition might also be considered.

This is, nevertheless, an atlas of the highest quality, show- ing with clarity the detailed anatomy of the foot presented in full natural size. It is clearly going to be of immense value to all those interested in the foot, from nurses to orthopaedic surgeons. Radiologists, especially those interested in the skeleton or working for their Part I examination, will find it a valuable substitute for the departmental skeleton, which is usually missing anyway. Furthermore, it will remind them of the soft-tissue at tachments and relationships so essential to the understanding of function.

Dennis Stoker