Jhaveri MD, Salzman KL, Ross JS, et al. Expert DDx: Brain and Spine. 2nd ed. Elsevier; 2018; 1096 pp; 3500 ill; $329.99

There are different ways to present imaging material in a textbook or online. One is to index diseases and refer the reader to the proper pages; another is to show the imaging related to a specific set or sets of clinical findings/symptoms. A third is to group images according to the observed imaging findings and describe/illustrate multiple cases showing those findings. This last approach is generally the one taken by the authors of the second edition of Expert DDx: Brain and Spine. By doing this, most entities encountered in a neuroradiology practice are seen.

When confronted with a certain finding or findings, one may not recall or think of the multiple differential possibilities. This book allows them to do exactly that. Divided into 2 parts (skull/brain and spine), this 1000-page hardcover book edited by Drs. Jhaveri, Salzman, Ross, Moore, Osborn, and Ho covers in Part 1 the skull, meninges, ventricles/periventricular region, extra-axial space, brain parenchyma (infratentorial and supratentorial), sella, pineal gland, vasculature, and cranial nerves; in Part 2, the CV junction, vertebral segments, disc/end plates, and extradural, intradural, and intramedullary areas are covered. The vast collection of cases on both MR and CT is remarkable for its completeness and for the quality of the images.

This second edition is far more expensive than the first edition (published in 2009). It includes more descriptive material and a greater number of images, and it uses a smaller font size so there is more information available to the reader. The details accompanying the images allow one to rapidly assimilate essential information for each disease.

This volume is highly recommended for both seasoned neuroradiologists and those in training.