Atlas of Neuroanatomy with Systems Organization and Case Correlations

American Journal of Neuroradiology

Joseph J. Warner. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. 676 pages. $130.50

This book by Joseph Warner looks and feels its worth of more than $100; it is the War and Peace of neurologic atlases. All of which begs the question, Who needs another neuroanatomy atlas?

As it turns out, we do, if it is well conceived, as is this book, and offers added value beyond the mere depiction of dry neuroanatomy correlated with dry MR images and CT scans. This is such a good and useful book in most respects that the older generation MR images and CT scans can be excused. It must have taken many years to accumulate all the great cases of pathologic abnormalities presented in this atlas. In six well-organized general sections with numerous subdivisions into chapters, such as “Sectional Neuroanatomy” and “Neurohistology,” this atlas includes all the requisite anatomic brain sections (gross plus large, easy to identify hematoxylin and eosin-stained brain sections) with some corresponding MR images and some CT sections of the brain.

Atlas of Neuroanatomy with Systems Organization and Case Correlations has something else nobody has ever incorporated into a book that is this comprehensive: neurologic physical examination signs, syndromes, and deficit patterns used by the clinicians. These are conveniently accompanied by very good schematic diagrams and illustrations of exactly where the pathways are located, how they are involved, and where the lesions must be placed to result in those clinical findings. The text and illustrations cover all the eponymic syndromes and simplify all the complex neuroanatomic pathways in such a way that all readers will understand them. Need to know where all those myriad interconnections of the basal ganglia and brain stem nuclei go? That information is included in this book in an understandable format. Frank Netter would be proud, or jealous. Netter’s illustrations, however, were in color, and the illustrations in this book are in black and white, for the most part.

In an additional excellent section, “Schematic Diagrams of Systems Organization and Connectivity,” which contains 10 subchapters, the author covers all aspects of neurologic pathways. This section affords a quick and easy reference to such questions as, Exactly where does the lesion lie that is involved in Gerstmann syndrome? How about Wernicke syndrome or internuclear ophthalmoplegia? The book contains very good drawings of the cranial nerves and the brain stem nuclei, plus diagrams showing where they all fit in with the surface anatomy and the MR anatomy. It covers the motor and sensory pathways, useful in this era of functional MR imaging studies, showing concise but clear diagrams of the motor and sensory cortices with their multiple projections.

Sections toward the back of the book in the chapter “Functional Neuroanatomy and Pathophysiology: Clinical Case Correlations” deal with almost all the possible neurologic disease processes in concise form. Two pages on multiple sclerosis include not only a fairly complete update of clinical knowledge but also how to make the diagnosis, MR imaging findings and their significance, and a few photomicrographs. The same is true of brain tumors, vascular disease, etc. Copious illustrations and anatomic material cover the circle of Willis and dural venous sinuses and their possible disease involvement.

This atlas is appropriate for all neuroradiologists who interpret MR images of the brain and will be especially useful for residents in radiology, neurology, and neurosurgery. Its unique features, which correlate images with syndromes and clinical findings, set it apart from other atlases on the market.