Naidich TP, Castillo M, Cha S, Smirniotopoulos,

eds. Imaging of the Brain. Expert Radiology Series.

Elsevier Saunders; 2013; 1072 pgs; $315.
There are numerous educational resources available in every radiology subspecialty.
They appear on society and academic websites, in journals designed both for
original research and review articles, on commercial websites, and, of course, in
textbooks. In the latter category, for brain imaging, Osborns Brain: Imaging,
Pathology, and Anatomy and Diagnostic Imaging: Brain have been the two
textbooks that are frequently used as source material. Enter now (published in
2012) the new book Imaging of the Brain, edited by well-known authorities in
neuroradiology, Drs. Naidich, Castillo, Cha, and Smirniotopoulos; it is superb in its
concept and execution, classic in its writing, and unsurpassed in the depth of detail,
as concerns brain anatomy. As one reads through the book, one feels the strong
influence and guidance that the senior editor, Dr. Naidich, has had on the end
productthorough, detailed, and beautifully illustrated.
Eighty authors, including the editors, have contributed to the thirteen separate
sections: Techniques; Image and Pattern Analysis; Scalp, Skull, and Meninges;
Normal Brain Anatomy (supra and infratentorial); Cerebrovascular Anatomy and
Disease; Craniocerebral Trauma; Cysts and Tumors; The Phakomatoses; Infection
and Inflammation; Aging and Degeneration; Toxic and Metabolic Conditions;
Hydrocephalus; Epilepsy. Some of this material can be found only by going to the
website (expertconsult.inkling.com) rather than the website shown on the inside
cover of the book. Examples of this are in Chapters 48 and 49, where the material
and full description is contained in Classical Concepts of Hydrocephalus and on
Emerging Concepts of CSF Physiology and Communicating Hydrocephalus, available
online only. The same applies to Chapter 6 (Scalp) and Chapter 7 (Skull). Here, for
example, in the Skull, one reads of anatomy imaging, reads how pathology alters
this normal appearance, sees a series of images (skull films, CTs, MRs), and finally,
reads the analyses of these types of abnormalities. Other material found online only
includes Intracranial Cysts and Cyst-like Lesions; Neuroepithelial Cysts,
Porencephaly and Perivascular Spaces; Neurotoxicity Associated with Pediatric
Malignancies; Neurodegeneration: Cerebrum; and Neurodegeneration: Cerebellum
and Brain Stem.
As the readers of this review might expect, because of Dr. Naidichs lead editorial
role, the book is heavy on detailed neuroanatomy. I count 241 pages that fit into
this category; the material is encyclopedic in nature. This is not accomplished at the
expense of describing and illustrating pathological conditions of the brain. The
images selected for the book are crisp and state-of-the-art. Many diagrams, tables,
and gross/histological material make the educational content of the book even more
compelling.
To single out one chapter for comment, attention is drawn to the chapter on White
Matter anatomy. Attention to this chapter is warranted to point out how complete
this material is and how, in this reviewers mind, it exemplifies the quality in other

portions of the book. Hereafter, basic definitions are stated (eg, commissural,
association, heterotopic projections, striae), and the reader is taken from there to
the major considerations of the pertinent anatomy. This is important material for
any neuroradiologist, but in particular for those who are engaged in functional MR
(activation studies). The description of the physiological nature of each of the tracts
is precise and particularly well illustrated.
The bigger concept (and I can say the same for the deep gray matter chapter) is
that the material takes the reader beyond simply what is needed to understand the
imaging we see daily. It can serve to satisfy ones deeper curiosity about what the
anatomy means in terms of function. For example, is it important that we know the
relationship of the internal capsule to the deep gray matter nuclei of non-human
animals? Certainly not; but it is interesting, surely, yes. This small example (there
are many others of course) speaks to the intellectual depths of the book and the
efforts put into its construction.
It is often of value to compare between textbooks and determine how differently (or
perhaps similarly) a given subject is dealt with. Using Parkinson disease as an
example, one has to go online to retrieve the information from this books website
because it does not appear in the print version. Once there, the reader can read a
description of the disease and its imaging, which, unfortunately, concentrates to a
great degree on PET/SPECT. In this respect, and for this particular disease, Osborns
Brain and Diagnostic Imaging would be of greater value and interest. A similar
observation is made relative to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, where the imaging is less
robust and shows fewer features than in the aforementioned books. But in many
other subjects, particularly in terms of detailed anatomy and the depths of
education in connectivity and neurophysiologic considerations, the book under
review here is marvelous. Like any huge subject, such as brain imaging, different
resources have different strengths.
In this reviewers opinion, the text Imaging of the Brain is an extremely important
publication and should be part of every neuroradiologists library.