HomeRadiologyVol. 64, No. 5 PreviousNext Announcements and Book ReviewsBook ReviewsDie Wirbelsäulenverletzungen und ihre AusheilungPublished Online:May 1 1955https://doi.org/10.1148/64.5.749cMoreSectionsPDF ToolsImage ViewerAdd to favoritesCiteTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked In AbstractPathologische Anatomie, Klinik, Röntgendiagnostik Begutaciitungs- und Zusammenhangsfragen. By Prof. Dr. Med. Alfons Lob, Sanderbusch i. Oldenburg. Second revised edition. A volume of 272 pages, with 340 illustrations and 16 tables. Published by Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1954. Distributed in the United States and Canada by Intercontinental Medical Book Corp., New York 16, N. Y. Price DM 78.—($18.55).According to the author, this second edition of his book on spinal injuries has been completely rewritten and augmented by new case reports. A 116-page chapter on the evaluation of damage to the spine and retrospective assessment of the causative factors is added. The material contained in this chapter is of special value to those concerned with compensation problems but takes into consideration, also, congenital, inflammatory, and neoplastic lesions. An unintentional by-product of its subject matter is information concerning the extensive welfare system which appears to be in effect in present-day Germany. There are at least six different national agencies concerned with compensation of injuries or disabilities. Reference is made to decisions by different courts subject to a variety of laws on health insurance, veterans' benefits, war injuries, indemnity, compensation, and disability.The book as a whole is less concerned with the description of diagnosis of spine injuries per se than with the end-results of healing. Consequently a great number of serial studies are included, beginning on the day of injury and extending in some instances to years later.The illustrations are of excellent quality and the cases are well selected. The author makes an attempt to prove most of his statements by either animal experiments or a series of clinical cases statistically evaluated. In this respect the book appears to be unique.A good example of the detail with which the various aspects of injuries to the spine are treated is the section on traumatic separation of the marginal ledge of the vertebral body. This contains not only line drawings and reproductions of radiographs intended to illustrate the differentiation between trauma and congenital separation of the vertebral limbus but also a tabulation of 23 cases by sex, age, anatomical localization, history, complaints, secondary x-ray findings, and court decisions.The treatment of spinal fractures by different methods is discussed objectively, but in his final conclusion the author goes on record as being opposed to anatomical reduction of collapsed vertebral bodies. Nor is he in favor of laminectomy or any other kind of spinal neurosurgery in cord injuries, even though paralysis may be produced by hematoma alone. This philosophy may be occasioned by the present status of neurosurgery in Germany, which probably differs from that in the United States.The book is a commendable addition to the radiological and orthopedic literature.Article HistoryPublished in print: May 1955 FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsRecommended Articles RSNA Education Exhibits RSNA Case Collection Vol. 64, No. 5 Metrics Downloaded 1 times Altmetric Score PDF download