This book was written in an attempt to fill a serious gap in medieal literature. A coneise anatomieal text, incorporating an atlas of the vaseular anatomy of the vertebral column and spinal cord, it has been designed to suit the needs of ort ho- pedie surgeons, neurosurgeons, and neurologists. We also fee! that this work will he!p give direetion to further studies on the morphology and physiology of spinal eirculation. The book begins with a diseussion of the origins of the arteries whieh supply the vertebral eolumn. It eontinues with adescription of the various regions of the spine, the eervieal, thoraeie, and lumbar, and of the arteries which supply the meninges and spinal cord, the veins of the verte- bral column, and venous and arterial distribution within the spinal cord. Anatomie studies of the eireulation both in bones and in the spinal cord require the use of teehniques whieh are erude and time consuming. Essential to sueeess is aecess to fresh postmortem human bodies, so that injeetions into the vaseular systems may be attempted before any disseetion has been made in the course of the routine pathologie examination. Permission to pursue these partieular anatomie studies eannot be obtained as a matter of routine. Beeause of the restrieted availability of speeimens therefore, only random sam pIes can be obtained.