The Radcliffe Infirmary holds a special place in the history of medicine and in the hearts of the people of Oxfordshire. It was here that penicillin was first used to treat infections, the first accident service was set up and a flying squad to go to the aid of mothers in crisis in childbirth was created. The hospital has been a pioneer in plastic surgery, anaesthetics, physiotherapy, neurosciences, nursing and many other areas. Many thousands of patients and their families have cause to be grateful for its care. To mark the closure of this great institution, Andrew Moss, who worked in the NHS locally for over twenty-five years, has drawn on historic archives and contemporary sources to present a fascinating picture of hospital life from the Infirmary's foundation in 1770 to the present day, which will surprise, inform and delight readers.

Sir Richard Doll, FRS, FRCP ICRF Cancer Research Studies Unit Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK The twentieth century has seen few changes more remarkable than the improvement in health that has occurred nearly everywhere, most spectacularly in the economically developed countries. In these countries improved nutrition, better housing, the control ofinfection, smaller family sizes, and higher standards of education have brought about a situation in which more than 97% of all liveborn children can expect to survive the first half ofthe three score years and ten that formerly was regarded as the allotted span oflife. From then on, however, the position is less satisfactory. Some improvement has occurred; but the proportion of survivors who die prematurely, that is under 70 years of age, varies from 25% to over 50% in men and from 13% to 28% in women, the extremes in both sexes being recorded, respectively, in Japan and Hungary. Most of these deaths under 70 years of age must now be called premature, even in Japan. For most of them are not the result of any inevitable aging process, but instead are the consequences of diseases (or types of trauma) that have lower-often much lower-age-specific incidence rates in many of the least developed countries.

The following papers were presented at an international symposium on the mechanisms and treatment of nausea and vomiting in man held in Oxford in 1984. I believe that this meeting was the first occasion on which representatives from such a wide variety of scientific and clinical specialities had come together to review and debate the spectrum of the vomiting phenomenon. An attempt was made to put before an invited international audience all the pertinent facts on the different facets of the topic and then to encourage extensive discussion of the contentious issues. The first day of the meeting was devoted to the basic science ap proach to the problem and the second day to the more clinical aspects. This format has been broadly retained in the layout of the book, with the addition of summary chapters reviewing each day's contributions and focusing upon areas of particular importance. Acknowledgement must here be made to the enormous input from the many participants who either spoke in the debate or rose and themselves gave small presenta tions in addition to those of the invited speakers. The meeting occurred at a time of increasing interest in the problem of nausea and vomiting, especially because of its importance in cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and even in space travel.

Cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography remain key tools in the management of patients with coronary heart disease. Although this is the most frequently used method of coronary revascularization, general training in cardiology rarely offers more than the opportunity to assist a more senior operator to perform angioplasty procedures. This textbook, covering key procedures and fully revised and updated to include the latest trials, technology, and new techniques, is essential reading. The Oxford Textbook of Interventional Cardiology, 2nd edition spans the whole spectrum of interventional cardiology procedures, including a novel section on the future of interventional cardiology, and multiple new chapters covering special devices in percutaneous coronary intervention. Written by an expert team of international authors, this book offers guidance on all aspects of interventional cardiology according the European curriculum, and covers the evidence-based guidelines for a comprehensive view of the field.

Part of the Oxford Textbooks in Clinical Neurology series, the Oxford Textbook of Clinical Neurophysiology includes sections that provide a summary of the basic science underlying neurophysiological techniques, a description of the techniques themselves, including normal values, and a description of the use of the techniques in clinical situations. Much of diagnostic neurophysiology is essentially pattern recognition which is illustrated throughout the text using audio and video examples. Divided into four key sections, this book begins with the scientific basis of clinical neurophysiology (Section 1) before exploring specific techniques including Electromyography, Intracranial EEG recordings, and Magnetoencephalography (Section 2). The final two sections explore clinical aspects of both the peripheral nervous system (Section 3) and the central nervous system (Section 4).

Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery is a current and convenient resource for both the surgical resident and the busy practicing surgeon. It provides trainee surgeons an excellent learning and review resource, and it provides up-to-date information on recent developments, research, and data in the context of accepted specialist surgical practice. As with each volume of the Companion to Specialist Surgical Practice series, it provides current and succinct summaries of all key topics within the specialty and concentrates on the most recent developments and current data. To meet the increasing interest in evidence-based medicine, authors have cited, whenever available, the meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and identified