Erich K. Lang - Böcker

Any book with the words percutaneous and interventional is immediately identified as one that brings to its readers a distillation of a number of new and exciting techniques. Percutaneous is not exactly a new word but it has come to take on an entirely new meaning in recent years. Interventional is a recent acquisition to medical language indicating an entirely new approach to many aspects of medical management. Exactly when is the right time to make a distillation of new thoughts and expertise requires something of the art of a master brewer. First the ingredients must be prepared, the recipe must be just right, there must be excellent quality control as well as the master brewer's touch to produce the product when the time is right. Dr. Lang has assembled just the right ingredients in the form of a very impressive team of experts in these new fields of uroradiology and urological management. Ventures into percutaneous urology may date back 30 years but the main growth in the range of procedures and the development of the technology has occurred only in the last 10 years. Relieving upper tract obstruction seemed a natural sequel to renal biopsy but the imagination to develop an effective treatment for stones was an impressive extension of the concept of minimally invasive surgery.

Radiology of the Female Pelvic Organs represents the third text in Erich K. Lang's trilogy which includes the previously published titles Radiology of the Upper Urinary Tract and Radiology of the Lower Urinary Tract. This volume provides a comprehensive review of diseases of the female pelvic organs. The clinical picture and pathology are well covered, but of course the emphasis is on imaging of the female pelvic organs and on the interventional procedures used to treat maladies of these organ systems. The current volume departs from the preceding two works in that the major empha­ sis is on the new modalities of MRI, CT, and ultrasonography, including color Doppler. Professor Lang has brought together the foremost experts from around the world in each of the specific areas of radiology of the female pelvic organs. Special skills devel­ oped in each radiologic community are lucidly described. Several chapters describe the relative roles of the different new modalities and give guidance to the clinician in choosing the most appropriate imaging technique. The volume not only discusses diagnosis and staging but places a major emphasis on therapy and the evaluation of the effectiveness of various therapeutic modalities. The extensive literature citations catalog the experience of the experts worldwide and are not limited to any specific geo­ graphic area. This volume truly confirms that medicine has become a global effort with experts from throughout the world offering their own unique contributions.

The advent in recent years of several new imaging modalities for the application in diag­ nosis and patient management has had an unprecedented impact on patient care. By per­ mitting the acquisition of information without intervention, these new modalities have made the diagnostic process more humane. They have also made possible the treatment of many disorders of the upper and lower urinary tract by means of interventional tech­ niques, replacing a number of surgical procedures. The editor of this volume has engaged international experts in radiology to describe the state of the art of radio log y of the upper urinary tract. Local and regional abnormalities are covered, but so too is the involvement of urinary structures in systemic disease. The radiologic approach and interpretation are combined with the presentation of pertinent clinical observations and important pathophysiologic concepts. The text is concise and the illustrations are appropriate. Up-to-date international bibliographies are provided. Both the text and the illustrations will serve as sources of information for the radiologists, urol­ ogists, nephrologists, gynecologists, and oncologists. Most importantly, the material is presented in such a way that practicing specialists dealing with urologic disorders, as well as physicians in training will benefit. We feel that it is timely to publish a present day treatise on urinary tract radiology in order to convey the contributions made by various newer imaging modalities to the diagnosis of urinary disorders.