Daniel Thomas Ginat - Neuroradiological Imaging of Skin Diseases and Related Conditions

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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One could consider the skin as the last great unexplored frontier in neuroimaging. Up until now, most MRI of the skin and its disorders has been confined to the neurocutaneous syndromes. When one looks carefully at the literature on this topic, it is easy to realize that although the lesions in the central nervous system have received considerable attention those in the skin have not. My first reaction (and I am sure that many radiologists have the same one) is, why look at the skin lesions when they are obvious to physical examination? Well, dermatology is similar to radiology in that personal experience plays a huge role in reaching a correct diagnosis and in that many lesions look similar.

In this beautifully illustrated and highly original book, Ginat and his coauthors provide radiologists with a concise but complete overview of skin lesions, many unknown to imagers. Because skin lesions occur throughout the body, this book should be helpful to all subspecialties of radiology not only neuroradiology. Appropriately, this book covers all of the traditional phakomatoses but also includes imaging of benign and malignant tumors. All entries contain clinical photographs, histology, and imaging using different modalities. Postoperative procedures including those performed for cosmetic reasons are addressed in the last chapter.

Although books such as this one are generally used as consultation sources and not completely read, this one deserves more attention than just casual perusing. Reading it cover to cover will expand the horizons of radiologists and will make us look at skin lesions differently. Instead of stating that another nonspecific skin lesion is present, after reading this book we should be able to offer a diagnosis or an intelligent differential diagnosis.

The future always lies in the previously unexplored or the insufficiently explored. Although not covered in this book, I can see a future when imaging may play an important role in the assessment of skin grafts, genetic modifications of skin lesions, and other types of therapies. But for the time being, this superb book fulfills an empty niche. I congratulate the authors for their careful work, superb illustrations, concise and informative text, and courage to venture into a new territory.

When I visited my aunts house as a child, one of my favorite activities there was perusing the vivid and dramatic photos in a skin disease atlas. Although I did not become a dermatologist, that experience has to some degree inspired me to prepare this book. The subject matter still appeals to my inner childhood imagination and is also relevant to my clinical work as a neuroradiologist.

One might wonder what skin diseases have to do with radiology. While skin lesions are readily visible on clinical exam, diagnostic imaging is useful for evaluating the depth and extent of the lesions and assessing many associated conditions that are beyond skin deep, such as neurocutaneous syndromes. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the various skin diseases and their associated systemic and neuroimaging findings. Besides the radiology findings, this book includes clinical and pathology images and descriptions, when appropriate and possible.

I hope you enjoy this first edition of Neuroradiological Imaging of Skin Diseases and Related Conditions .