Radiology Casebook for Medical Students
Rena Wasan, Alan Grundy and Richard Beese
Pastest, 2000; £18.95
ISBN 1 901198 405
Rating: 3/4
This is another addition to the
growing range of Pastest paperback
books for undergraduate medical
students. As with all Pastest books, quality of
content comes before aesthetic layout and
simplicity of text.
This book is in effect a collection of case
based scenarios of everyday clinical situations
in which radiographic imaging has played a
part in the management of the illness. It is
somewhat strangely divided into six sections:
abdomen, chest, bones, neurology, trauma,
and paediatrics. The content of each section,
however, cannot be faulted, offering a varied
yet always relevant sample of cases.
Within each section a range of imaging
modalities from plain films to magnetic
resonance imaging are used. It is thought.
fully structured to encourage confidence
and develop skills - beginning with common
complaints or distinct radiological signs
before moving on to more tricky films. With
questions on each case at the end of the
chapter you will soon become addicted as
your new found knowledge is rewarded with
correct answers. There is a test paper at the
end of the book that presents the chance to
see how much you have learnt, that could
also be used as a revision aid. Furthermore,
the index allows you to use the book as a
textbook to find out about specific diseases.
As with all radiology books the quality of
the films, enabling you to interpret the structure and pathology, is of paramount
importance. On this front the book scores a
comfortable eight out of ten. If anything, this
book is ambitious in what an undergraduate
may be expected to know, unless you are a
radiology groupie.
A thorough understanding of Radiology
Casebook for Medical Students will equip you
with the practical knowledge needed to be
an all round doctor, with the confidence to
interpret basic films yourself. You will no
longer find yourself searching for "reported
films" on the ward.
As with all Pastest books it can be
ordered from www.pastest.co.uk and postage
and packing is free of charge.
Ian C Bickle, fourth year medical student Queen's University, Belfast
Email: medicine@totalise.co.uk
studentBMJ 2001;09:129-170 May ISSN 0966-6494
