Review by the Münster Medical Students’ Association, May 15, 2009

Chest X-Ray Trainer
Author: Matthias Hofer (ed.)
2nd edition 2008, Didamed-Verlag, 224 pages, ISBN: 978-3-938103-01-2, €29.90
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Review date: May 15, 2009

Contents

The book aims to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of key findings in chest X-ray diagnostics and, in particular, to enable them to interpret images independently. To this end, the book proposes an interpretation framework that structures the content into the following sections: Thoracic Wall/Skeleton – Pleura – Mediastinum – Diffuse Changes – Focal/Patchy Changes – Streaky-Reticular Changes – Foreign Material. In addition, there are chapters on chest trauma and critical care thoracic medicine. The content is thus very comprehensive, covering virtually all important findings, even for the early stages of a resident’s career.

Didactics

It’s important to emphasize that the book features a highly innovative concept that seems extremely useful for the practical acquisition of X-ray diagnostic skills. Someone has really put a lot of thought into this! The book is, in fact, designed as a learning and practice guide. This is evident, on the one hand, in the inclusion of numerous, rather unconventional design elements, and on the other hand, in the specific review pages that provide spaces to fill in and answer practice exercises. The content as a whole is structured in a highly logical manner. The pages featuring radiographic findings, with a focus on photographs, are preceded by an introductory chapter with numerous schematic drawings that recapitulate important anatomical fundamentals (e.g., of the lung segments) and apply them to the logic of an X-ray image (and CT scan). In the chapters on specific findings, individual terms are regularly highlighted and juxtaposed with a corresponding X-ray image, usually with small arrows pointing precisely to the finding. This is extremely helpful for mentally correlating the pathological entity with the visual impression! These pages make up the main body of the book. Noteworthy design elements include small schematic drawings that provide a schematic analogy between the X-ray images, explaining, for example, why a pulmonary effusion causes certain changes in the image or what signs of congestion an X-ray image may reveal. In addition, there are various sections that provide insight into interventional radiology—including an introduction to different types of catheters and techniques. In summary, the book’s didactic approach is exceptionally compelling and marked by a rare originality that seems very well-suited to the goal of developing practical skills in interpreting X-ray images.

Value for the Price and Conclusion

Given the book’s well-thought-out structure and pedagogical originality, the price seems very reasonable. Whether it’s worth it for you personally depends on your ambitions in radiology. The average student who wants to learn a little about chest X-ray diagnostics should consider the investment carefully, since such in-depth knowledge is, of course, not necessary for a standard clinical training program. For those with a deeper interest in radiology, however, the book’s value should certainly justify the price—especially for students completing their elective rotation in radiology during their clinical internship, and of course for prospective resident physicians.