Radiology of the Hand

The eontinual growth of radiologie information makes it inereas- ingly diffieult for the praetitioner to maintain eurrent clinieal knowledge. Radiologie textbooks eontaining mueh material for the praetieing clinieian are often impossible to review thoroughly. Such radiographie texts deseribing the hand as a window to the understanding of systemie disease are available, but there has been an absence of books whieh present an easily assimilated synopsis of this material. Professor Thijn has elegantly presented all the major and many minor features of diseases and eonditions that affeet the skeleton, using hand roentgenograms as a window. He has also included numerous illustrations of key assoeiated roentgeno- graphie manifestations elsewhere in the body. His organized pre- sentation of eaeh entity, including introductory remarks, radio- graphie findings in the hand and other sites, differential diagno- sis, and key referenees, forms a strueture through whieh an ap- propriate evaluation of a clinieal ease may be made.The eoneise synopsis of eaeh disease entity, weIl illustrated by superb roentgenograms, provides an exeellent strueture for both the student first learning about such eonditions and the praetitioner researehing an explanation for partieular roentgeno- graphie findings. Professor Thijn has attempted, and I believe has sueeeeded admirably, to provide a souree from whieh a student or praeti- tioner of radiology may readily arrive at a differential diagnosis of an observed radiographie feature. LOUIS A. GILULA, M.D.