This book is a good practical reference for veterinary technicians and veterinarians as well as a good text for veterinary technician students and veterinary students in their clinical year. It is divided into 2 parts: "theory and equipment" and "imaging". Part 1 covers the founding principals necessary for creating high quality radiographs including x-ray physics, radiation safety, equipment, technique chart development, quality assurance and common artifacts. Part 2 is focused on creating the image with chapters in small, large and exotic animal radiography as well as contrast studies, other imaging modalities and digital imaging. Each chapter includes objectives, a glossary of terms used in the chapter, a chapter summary ("key points") and review questions.
This newest edition includes the prefaces from all previous editions to give insight into the original purpose of this text which is not only for learning but a practical guide and future reference. The learning takes place in the first third of the text (Part 1) in which the author explains very difficult topics (i.e. physics) in a very clear and concise fashion using diagrams and illustrations to help the reader understand. Part 2 takes on the practical aspect of the author's mission in this text. It starts with a chapter on terminology, patient and machine preparation and film identification. The book then moves into chapters on small animal positioning techniques (forelimb, hind limb, skull, spine, and soft tissue) with illustrations and radiographic images for each area of interest. These chapters even include some of the less common views such as decubital thoracic views and PENN Hip. The "Special Procedures" chapter includes all of the most commonly seen studies and a fairly detailed description of how to perform them. Chapters 19 and 20 focus on large and exotic animal positioning respectively with a short section on "special considerations" for each patient category. The large animal chapter is easy to reference and includes information on the views that are less commonly done in standard private practice such as thorax and spinal views, but may be necessary for the veterinary technician student to recognize. The exotics chapter includes everything from small mammals to reptiles to birds and even fish although it doesn't go into as much detail as I would like. The final two chapters are on the newest modalities including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), nuclear scintigraphy, and finally an extensive discussion on digital imaging.
In reviewing this book, I was disappointed to not see horizontal beam views discussed in the small animal orthopedic sections and only minimal coverage of dental radiography in the skull section. I would have expected this with the amount of detail in other sections of the book. The chapter references and photographs seem outdated, but still illustrate what is needed for the text. I miss the detailed table of contents in the previous version and wish that there was a full glossary at the end of the book. The addition of the digital imaging chapter is a big boost to this newest edition. The checklists and flow charts as well as drawings, photographs, and images make this a great educational tool as well as a reference in a clinical setting. Overall, this text will serve as an excellent reference for veterinary technicians and veterinarian alike as well as veterinary technician and veterinary students.
Elsevier/Saunders Publishing (2007).
Hard cover, 378 pages, 506 illustrations.
ISBN-13: 9781416031895.