Extract
In reviewing the third edition of Lee Rogers' text, we had the opportunity
to go back two decades and identify the advances in the diagnostic workup and
management of the traumatized patient. From the first edition in 1982, to the
second in 1992, to the present, imaging of skeletal trauma has evolved
appreciably. One great change is related to improvements in computed
tomography as a result of helical multislice acquisition and the ease of
reconstruction in planes other than the axial plane. Another advance in the
past decade is the refinement of magnetic resonance imaging with faster
acquisition times and the development of more specific sequences. Both of
these changes are clearly described and illustrated in the latest edition of
the text. As in the previous editions, the author stays with the regional
approach and includes sections on the axial as well as the appendicular
skeleton. A major change from the previous editions is the author's addition
of a "Dream-Team" equivalent of twenty-nine contributors as
coauthors of twenty-one of the twenty-three chapters. These coauthors are
recognized experts in musculoskeletal imaging who have a definite
subspecialized interest in their assigned topics. Although the third edition
has essentially the same number of illustrations as the previous editions,
more than 20% of these illustrations are new. Most are computed tomographic or
magnetic resonance images (especially of the axial skeleton) that serve to
replace previous radiographs.