Keats TE, Anderson MW, eds. Atlas of Normal Roentgen Variants That May Simulate Disease. Ninth Ed. Elsevier Saunders; 2012; 816 pages; $299.00.
The newest edition (9th edition) of Keat’s classic textbook Atlas of Normal Roentgen Variants that May Stimulate Disease is now available. It is a slimmer version (816 pages) than the 7th edition (1184 pages published in 2001). The book comes with a scratch-off code supposedly to be used to access additional images. Any buyer of this text should be aware of the fact that with this ExpertConsult.com site, when this reviewer attempted to access it, it was cumbersome/clunky and as a result it was difficult to get to the images they claim are on the web. In fact, in trying to access the material, this reviewer was finally forced to call the “technical assistance” line, which then, by voicemail, directed me to another number. That number resulted in a menu which was not helpful. This is a major disadvantage of what theoretically was to have been a selling point of the book. Other books (such as those published by Amirsys) have simple and robust online access. The end result of multiple login attempts and phone calls was to cease searching for the material. This review therefore concerns just the printed material.
Of interest to those interpreting plain radiographs of the spine, skull, and facial bone are sections of Part One (“The Bones”) and a short segment in Part Two (soft tissue of the neck). The images are similar to what have appeared in previous texts and are not always of the highest quality. The spine chapter is worth thumbing through because many normal structures or normal configurations can resemble a traumatic condition. In the emergency department this book would be good to have at the ready because a number of findings might be confusing. Here again the images are of old vintage, which is disappointing.
This reviewer doubts that the book will hold much interest to neuroradiologists, but it (or at least an earlier edition) should be a volume made available to residents in radiology through their departmental library.
