It is estimated that the functionally significant body of knowledge for
a given medical specialty changes radically every 8 years. New
specialties and "sub- specialization" are occurring at approximately an
equal rate. Historically, estab- lished journals have not been able
either to absorb this increase in publishable material or to extend
their readership to the new specialists. International and national
meetings, symposia and seminars, workshops, and newsletters success-
fully bring to the attention of physicians within developing specialties
what is occurring, but generally only in demonstration form without
providing historical perspective, pathoanatomical correlates, or
extensive discussion. 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 developed during the past 15 years. Over
this period, neurosurgeons have obtained special train- ing 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 investigative studies into
all aspects of surgically treatable diseases of the child's nervous
system.