Musculoskeletal MRI

Rating:
Summary: Radiology residents needed a book like this.
Review: If you like the Requisites series of texts, this book is for you. Let's face it, the average radiology resident can't wade through Stoller or Berquist and expect to remember much. This book takes musculoskeletal MR and breaks it down into a Requisites-format book of manageable length. Boxes indicating "key points" abound, and the pictures are of high quality. The length is appropriate for an introductory MSK MR rotation.

On the minus side, the book is definitely not an exhaustive reference text. The knee chapter is relatively short, especially given the huge volumes of knee MRs radiologists are seeing. Also, the authors are a bit too opinionated about which sequences to use in some chapters - a more evidence-based and less anecdotal approach to tailoring exams would have been more useful.

Overall, highly recommended for radiology residents who are encountering MSK MR for the first time.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding textbook, gain something new everytime I read it
Review: Must have for anyone interested in MSK, worth every penny.

Rating:
Summary: Radiology residents needed a book like this.
Review: This is a very good text especially for the cost.

True to the authors intentions, the text presents practical aspects of interpreting musculoskeletal magnetic resonance studies. The text is perfectly suited to radiology residents, fellows and radiologists interpreting routine mri's. Essential technical information including suggestions for protocols are provided as well as an organized approach to interpretation.

I liked the sequence of normal descriptions immediately followed by associated pathology. There were sufficient images of excellent quality. Illustrations and diagrams are well thought out and "boxes" with core information are also present for those of us who just want the essential list! Definitely an easily read text. One should realize that this, however, is not a reference text! A musculoskeletal radiologist or individual with special interest in this area will likely find this too superficial. But the authors intentions are not to replace Resnick or Stoller's excellent reference texts.

Bottom line is I definitely recommend it for the price because it fills the gap between an intro book and the heavy duty texts just as it intends to...it is the missing link.

Rating:
Summary: The missing link
Review: This is a very good text especially for the cost.

True to the authors intentions, the text presents practical aspects of interpreting musculoskeletal magnetic resonance studies. The text is perfectly suited to radiology residents, fellows and radiologists interpreting routine mri's. Essential technical information including suggestions for protocols are provided as well as an organized approach to interpretation.

I liked the sequence of normal descriptions immediately followed by associated pathology. There were sufficient images of excellent quality. Illustrations and diagrams are well thought out and "boxes" with core information are also present for those of us who just want the essential list! Definitely an easily read text. One should realize that this, however, is not a reference text! A musculoskeletal radiologist or individual with special interest in this area will likely find this too superficial. But the authors intentions are not to replace Resnick or Stoller's excellent reference texts.

Bottom line is I definitely recommend it for the price because it fills the gap between an intro book and the heavy duty texts just as it intends to...it is the missing link.

Rating:
Summary: Great MSK MRI book
Review: This is an excellent book for the following reasons:
-Size of text. This is the perfect size for an introductory text for a resident rotation. Small enough to throw in your backpack.
-Cost. On par with the Requisite series.
-Concise presentation. The text is easily readable for someone who has experience with plain film MSK, and takes time to explain the relevant anatomy when it's important.It goes over the most important topics over each major joint, leaving out the more obscure topics for the larger textbooks.
-Illustrations and images. Illustration are simple black-and-white drawings, which are much more effective than some texts that borrow illustrations, which are often way too busy (poor illustrations of the relevant anatomy). The images range in quality from OK to excellent, but shows normal first and pathology second for comparision. The images are liberally labelled with arrows denoting pathology and normal anatomic structures, which is a mark of an excellent text. I detest texts who present images without pointing out the findings. It's lazy, unhelpful, and sometimes you can't figure out just what the abnormality is! Tree-in-bud? Crazy paving? Pencil-in-cup? Radiology is filled with signs and descriptions, some of which are ridiculously or poorly named. Unfortunately your stuck learning them, and nothing is more infuriating than reading through a topic like arthritis with unmarked images showing subtle findings like "erosions" without clearly illustrated images.

This book is worth the asking price. MSK MRI is a rotation most residents don't receive until their 3rd/4th year, and it's the quickest way to hit the ground running.