Abstract
This two-volume set consists of 38 multiauthored chapters, each on a very focused imaging modality topic. Volume A contains two sections, one on imaging of animal models and human subjects and the other on imaging receptors, small molecules, and protein-protein interactions. Volume B consists of three sections covering disease models, preparation of materials, and general methods. The two volumes are essentially independent, with separate author and subject indices. Overall coverage is broad, with examples of applications useful for clinical medicine, new drug development, pharmacokinetics, angiogenesis, enzyme function, and gene expression.
Each chapter focuses on a specific imaging modality and application. There are several chapters dealing with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), and positron emission tomography, with separate chapters addressing nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, myocardial imaging, brain imaging, cancer models, bioluminescence imaging, molecular imaging, and near-infrared spectroscopy. Chapters begin with a universally understandable introduction to an imaging technology, typically with clearly stated advantages and disadvantages of that imaging modality. Chapters quickly become complex and detailed, often with emphasis on physics and underlying mathematics. In many instances, actual experimental protocols for image acquisition, including animal preparation, are detailed. Each chapter concludes with a concise summary. The complete reference citations are listed at the bottom of the page in which they are first cited. Illustrations are in black and white, except for a short section of color images placed at the end of each volume.
Imaging in Biological Research, Volumes A and B, provides in-depth details suitable for imaging scientists (physicists, biomedical engineers, and radiologists). Consequently, this two-volume set is not for the casual reader or novice in imaging and certainly not for the typical practicing pathologist, save for those few who may be well grounded in physics and mathematics. This is probably not one for your personal bookshelf in that it does not address optical microscopy or electron microscopy, which is most often the imaging modality of the practicing pathologist. However, these two volumes represent important contributions to the reference sections of organizational libraries.