Weissleder R, Wittenberg J, Harisinghani M, et al. Primer of Diagnostic Imaging. Mosby Elsevier 2011, 816 pages, $133.00.
For those residents preparing for the written or oral (soon-to-be non-oral) ABR examination this 800-page book—co-authored by Drs. Weissleder, Wittenberg, Harisinghani, and Chen (now in its 5th edition)—is of value. It contains no images, but in many places the diagrams serve to highlight the pathology and techniques. In actuality, many times it is easier to understand a concept or a disease via a cartoon (drawing) than with an image itself. Of great value are the multiple tables in every section. As expected, the chapters are Chest, Cardiac, GI, GU, MSK, Neuro, Head and Neck, Vascular/IR, Breast, OB, Peds, and Nuclear. The two last chapters cover Contrast Agents and Imaging Physics.
This book should be part of every Departmental library, and I suspect that every resident would want a copy for his/her own use. The book is valuable, not only for Board review, but as one passes from rotation to rotation; the key issues are easily accessed.
