Book excerpt: Interpreting chest X-rays can seem baffling and intimidating for senior medical students and newly qualified doctors. This highly illustrated guide provides the ideal introduction to chest radiology. It uses 100 clinical cases to illuminate a wide range of common medical conditions, each illustrated with a chest X-ray and a clear description of the significant diagnostic features and their clinical relevance. Where appropriate CT scans and bronchoscopic imaging are also included as part of the investigation. Pulmonary medicine is largely based on a strong foundation on the plain chest radiograph. Indeed chest radiography is the single most common investigation done in hospital practice. This illustrated collection of case studies will help make the learning process easier and more enjoyable and less painful. As well as illuminating pearls of core knowledge in chest X-ray interpretation, it highlights some of the pitfalls that might wrong-foot the inexperienced practitioner.