Nuclear Medicine: The Essentials is a book for all who need to know the most relevant information on Nuclear Medicine in adults and children, individuating further deeper and wider information or more precise technical specifications in other publications. The major quality of this publication may be found at first in its didactic format, simple and effective, improved by clear and explicative images and by the presence of self-assessment questions at the end of each chapter. Furthermore, it is interesting to evidence the description of all the most important procedures, including those actually less diffuse, but still useful, as many of those utilizing gamma emitters. Although is not the goal to present the most advanced state of the art and the more interesting perspectives, the book also describes issues only recently applied in clinical practice, such as PET/MRI, targeted radionuclide therapy, theranostics, and translational molecular imaging.

The editors of the volume are Hossein Jadvar, Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering and Director of Radiology Research at the University of South California (USC), in Los Angeles (with a joint faculty appointment as Visiting Associate in Bioengineering at Caltech), and Patrick M. Colletti, also working at the USC as Professor of Radiology, Medicine, Biokinesiology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, being Nuclear Medicine Program Director and Division Chief. They involved many experts in the field to discuss, as reported above, the “essentials” to be considered as premise to the most important clinical applications of Nuclear Medicine.

It has been not easy to resume in few pages the most important information, giving a knowledge not of a little bit of all, confuse as in a fruit salad, but organized on the basis of an information structured on priorities and less important data to crown. More precisely, the book of 310 pages is structured in the following 19 chapters: (1) Basics of Nuclear Medicine Physics and Radiation Safety, (2) Basics of Radiochemistry; (3) Basics of Instrumentation; (4) Thyroid Imaging and Therapy; (5) Parathyroid Scintigraphy; (6) Neuroendocrine Tumor Imaging and Therapy; (7) Central Nervous System; (8) Bone Scintigraphy; (9) Infection and Inflammation; (10) Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine; (11) Pulmonary Scintigraphy; (12) Gastrointestinal & Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy; (13) Renal Scintigraphy; (14) Positron Emission Tomography (PET), PET/CT, and PET/MRI; (15) Lymphoscintigraphy; (16) Radio-Theranostics; (17) Essentials of Pediatric Nuclear Medicine; (18) Quality Assurance of Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation; (19) Nuclear Medicine Procedures in the Pregnant and Lactating Patient.

I agree with the Editors in suggesting this publication mainly to “Residents in radiological sciences, who must create the foundations of their training by learning the essentials of each of the multiple components of their professional training, before choosing a specific specialization” or as “quick review for practicing radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians.” Further readers could be practitioners and other clinicians who want to acquire a comprehensive yet concise overview of clinical nuclear medicine. The book purchase includes a complimentary download of the enhanced eBook for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac.