Pediatric X-ray Diagnosis

No short review could possibly do justice to this magnificent book.The previous editions must be familiar to all radiologists and most paediatricians.The 1600-odd pages cover the radiology of all parts of the body, including specialized techniques.Every page has several illustrations.Not only are the x-rays beautifully produced, but the clarity of the exposition is greatly added to by numerous nonradiographic illustrations, such as line-drawings.As a sample, the reader can examine the 30 pages on the normal skull.After studying the line-drawings, photographs of skulls, and radiographs side-by-side, no paediatrician could fail to get more out of seeing the skull x-rays of his patients.The book is full of information about paediatric disorders in general as well as the radiological findings.The love and enthusiasm which have gone into the book's preparation come out in Dr. Caffey's preface 'There is much that is new and interesting and much that is old and interesting in this sixth edition.'The new preface sounds a warning which should be of even more direct concern to paediatricians than to radiologists.It largely discusses the long-term hazards of ionizing radiation, and the fact that children are often x-rayed on slender clinical indications.Dr. Caffey's suggestion that 20 to 30% of x-ray exposures in children could be eliminated without loss of useful diagnostic information does not sound overstated.Perhaps the thought for the week for paediatricians should be that 'excretory urograms in girls probably carry more potential hazard than any other diagnostic roentgen procedure now commonly applied to children'.This book is not just one for every radiological and paediatric department library-it is also a mine of information and enjoyment for the paediatrician who can afford to possess it.