Book excerpt: Chest sonography is an established procedure in the assessment of pulmonary and pleural disease, allowing the investigator to make an unequivocal diagnosis without exposing the patient to costly and stressful procedures. Since the second edition of this book, the value of chest sonography has been further demonstrated in many new studies, especially regarding the application of portable ultrasound stethoscope systems. The new edition presents the state of the art in chest investigation by means of ultrasonography and takes into account the results of the 1st International Consensus Conference on Pleural and Lung Ultrasound. The numerous excellent illustrations and the compact text provide concise and easy-to-assimilate information about the diagnostic procedure. Basic aspects such as indications, investigative techniques, and image artifacts are detailed in separate chapters, and new chapters have been included on emergency ultrasound of the chest and pediatric chest sonography.