Book Review
Basic Medical Radiation Physics. By Leonard St~n­
ton, M.S., F.A.C.R. Cloth, $12.75. Pp. 644, with
figures. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969.
Basic Medical Radiation Physics draws on a teach-
ing experience of more than forty years, starting w~th
one of the pioneers of radiological physics and m-
eluding sixteen years of personal instructing. In his
preface the author announces his intention ~o ~e­
scribe the "basic concepts and tools of radiation
physics" by concentrating on "con~eptu.al clar~ty
with scientific accuracy". The book IS written WIth
a classroom style of simplicity, avoiding mathe-
matics to an amazing degree. The print size and
schematic diagrams are noteworthy, and the ex-
tensive use of headed sections and subsections make
the subject matter easy to digest. Discussions of
topics are deliberately curtailed to. maintai~ the
book's character of being a general introduction to
medical radiation physics. The interested student,
however will find at the end of each chapter a list of
carefully selected texts and review articles with
occasional comments.
After two introductory chapters on matter, en-
ergy, and radiation, and basic electricity an? x-ray
machines, the remainder of the book deals WIth five
distinguishable areas of radiation physics. The first
of these covers the properties, uses, production and
attenuation of x-rays, their biologic effects, and the
measurement and clinical calculation of x-ray
dosage. The physics of x-ray diagnosis is then con-
tained in one long chapter. Four chapters are
devoted to the basic principles and measurements of
radioactivity, in vivo measurements, and clinical
radionuclide dosimetry. These are followed by the
basic concepts of protection, methods for minimizing
exposure, and the calculation of protection b~rriers,
which are dealt with at some length. The main text
concludes with a brief presentation of particle beam
sources, diagnostic ultrasound, and thermography.
The first of three appendices provides an excellent
collection of references on depth dose and x-ray at-
tenuation data, a listing of National Bureau of
Standards handbooks relating to units, dosimetry,
measurements and protection, and a classic reference
for radionuclide information. A very brief outline
of pitfalls in film dosimetry then precedes. the third
appendix, which is the largest and consists of an
extensive and perhaps over-cross-referenced glossary
of terms.
328
The sequence of material follows a logical pattern,
and, although the short chapter on biologic effects of
radiation does not seem out of place and might have
been used more effectively to introduce the subject
of radiation protection, one is guided smoothly step
by step through the material, with frequent and
effective reviews of related sections being achieved
by the insertion of numerous tabulated summaries.
The same cannot be said for the fabrication of the
book and criticism must be directed at the pub-
Iisher for not matching the author's efforts in pre-
sentation with an equal one in the printing, which
has been achieved with the inclusion of so many
errors that one wonders what the proofs must have
looked like. Reference on one occasion to "N.B.S.H.
and book 73" and the confusion of E,s and E,s
symbols exemplify this. In addition, the clarity of
some diagrams has been negated because of poor
labeling, while the use of chapter numbers with the
page headings and figure numbers would h~ve
greatly benefited utilization of the cross-referencing
incorporated in the text. ..
Considering the intention to emphasize baSIC
concepts, it was somewhat surprising to find that
Ohm's law is dismissed in two paragraphs and the
inverse-square law is without use of a proportion or
equation, while the barrier design procedure for. a
cobalt-50 teletherapy installation is described m
relative detail, without allowing for leakage radia-
tion! Exception should also be taken at using a
physics text to record controversial opinions l~ke
those inferring that ionization is the most effective
arrent for the treatment of malignant tumors and that
the radiotherapist decides whether irradiation, sur-
gery, or chemotherapy solely or in combination is
the treatment of choice.
Despite these criticisms, this book will be ex-
tremely valuable to all students of radiology, from
the uninitiated and the unscientific to those in the
shadow of board examinations, and even after
certification when the radiologist will undoubtedly
find frequent occasions to use it for reference
purposes. Instructors should also welcome it as. a
text to follow in the classroom, even though they will
have to prepare their own numerical assignments
and be on the look-out for corrections that need to be
made, at least in the case of this first edition.
JOHN WAKLEY, B.S.
Radiation Physicist