It is estimated that the functionally significant body of knowledge for
a given medical specialty changes radically every 8 years. New special-
ties and "sub-specialization" are occurring at approximately an equal
rate. Historically, established journals have not been able either to
absorb this increase in publishable material or to extend their reader-
ship to the new specialists. International and national meetings, sympo-
sia and seminars, workshops, and newsletters successfully bring to the
attention of physicians within developing specialties wh at is occur-
ring, but generally only in demonstration form without providing
historical perspective, pathoanatomical correlates, or extensive discus-
sion. Page and time limitations oblige the authors to present only the
essence of their material. Pediatric neurosurgery is an example of a
specialty that has devel- oped during the past 15 years. Over this
period neurosurgeons have obtained special training in pediatric
neurosurgery and then dedicated themselves primarily to its practice.
Centers, Chairs, and educational programs have been established as
groups of neurosurgeons in different countries throughout the world
organized themselves respectively into national and international
societies for pediatric neurosurgery. These events were both preceded
and followed by specialized courses, national and international
journals, and ever-increasing clinical and invest- igative studies into
all aspects of surgically treatable diseases of the child's nervous
system.