It is estimated that the fU, nctionally 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, established 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 successfully bring to
the attention of physicians within developing specialties what is
occurring, but generally only in dem- onstration 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 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 investigative studies into all as- pects of
surgically treatable diseases of the child's nervous system.