R. Nieuwenhuys, J. Voogd, and C. van Huijzen. New York: Springer; 2008, 970 pages, $89.95.
Although not designed primarily for neuroradiologists, this 970-page book, The Human Central Nervous System, 4th ed., written by Professors Rudolf Nieuwenhuys and Jan Voogd and illustrated by Christiaan van Huijzen, provides a highly detailed description of the structure, anatomic pathways, and neurophysiology of the central nervous system. The book is divided into 3 sections: 1) “Development of Brain and Spine: Overview of Anatomy,” 2) “Detailed Structural Anatomy of the Brain and Spinal Cord,” and 3) “Functional Systems.” There are no MR or CT images, but that was never an intent of the authors; this is a pure anatomy/functional anatomy text. The drawings of the brain are crisp in every section, and this includes drawing of full sections and of the complex connections/loops/afferents/efferents of all brain structures. Each chapter contains clinical correlates, but this is a relatively minor thrust of the book. For example, in the section on the basal ganglion, disorders such as Parkinson Disease and hemiballism are described and then correlated with the anatomic pathology. My sense is that this book will appeal just to those neuroradiologists who deep down are die-hard neuroanatomists. In addition, tight integration in all chapters with the associated functional neurophysiology would recommend this book to university libraries and neuroradiology sectional libraries, probably not to individual radiologists.
For those who wish a deeper than commonplace understanding of the anatomy and function of the brain and spinal cord, this could be a useful reference text and would be a fine addition to the library of a neuroradiology section.
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