As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

There are two important reasons for publishing this new series entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery" 1. the lack of any or ganized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neurosurgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate train ing. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

The human personality is inextricably bound up with, among other things, the function of the central nervous system. Diseases and malfunctions of the brain, head injuries and neurosurgical operations can all result in permanently altered behaviour patterns. This interrelation between brain and behaviour is most clearly demonstrated in cases involving functional neurosurgery and severe traumatic lesions. Despite the fact that this interrelation represents an everyday challenge to the neurosurgeon, it is a question which receives less attention than it deserves in neurosurgical meetings. Given the scope and complexity of this topic, it is not possible to cover every aspect of it here: hence, discussion is limited to the impact on personality of injuries, language, epilepsy and psychosurgery. However, before considering the medical aspects, it was deemed necessary to try and arrive at a definition of "personality." This question was discussed by a number of philosophers representing various perspectives. Their diversity of viewpoints and conceptions greatly enriched the discussions.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series of Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. This series was fust discussed in 1972 at a combined meeting of the Italian and German Neurosurgical Societies in Taormina, the founding fathers of the series being Jean Brihaye, Bernard Pertuiset, Fritz Loew and Hugo KrayenbUhl. Thus were established the principles of European co operation which have been born from the European spirit, flourished in the European Association, and have throughout been associated with this series. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the fust part of each volume."

There are two important reasons for commencing this new series of publi cations entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery": 1. the lack of any organized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neuro surgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions will be written by specialists in the given fields and will constitute the first part of each volume."

There are two important reasons for publishing this new series entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery": 1. the lack of any organized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neurosurgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions III English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions Of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

There are two important reasons for publishing this new series entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery" 1. the lack of anyor ganized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neurosurgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate train ing. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the puhlicationR of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons.

There are two important reasons for commencing this new series of publi cations entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery" 1. the lack of any organized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neuro surgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions will be written by specialists in the given fields and will constitute the first part of each volume."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. is not intended to compete with the publications of original Our series scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the Euro pean Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

This series of yearly books on Advances in Neurotraumatology is being published under the auspices of the Scientific Committee of Neuro traumatology of the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons. For some years neurotraumatology was perhaps too much looked upon as a secondary part of neurosurgery. But the constant increase of cases has provoked a renewal of interest all over the world, involving not only neurosurgeons but also any surgeon who has to take care of such patients. Each volume, in order to cover the whole of neurosurgery, will be concerned with a special topic, the various chapters of which being envisaged in detail, and followed by a practical "How to do it." Every volume will also contain chapters outside the envisaged topic regarding some up-to-date problems. The authors, chosen from various countries for their special competence, will try to offer an efficient contribution to the knowledge of neuro traumatology, and also to present a bedside series of handy books helping those who tend these cases. The first volume will deal with "Extracerebral Collections," the second "Dorsal and Lumbar Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries," the third "Cerebral Contusions, Lacerations and Hematomas," and the next ones will continue to successively approach all the other neurotraumatological topics."

Organized by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies, Paris, July 15-20, 1979

As a result of its structure, the skull base forms a borderline between different medi cal and surgical specialties. Nevertheless, the pathology of the skull may involve crossing these boundaries. Consequently, treatment may require a multidisciplinary approach with close cooperation between different specialists, each with his specific knowledge and capabilities. A good example is the cooperation needed in the treat ment of skull base trauma. The Skull Base Study Group was founded some years ago in view of this situa tion. Its purpose is to organize international conferences on topics related to skull base pathology. The first was held in June 1982 and focused on the area of trauma tology. The present volume contains articles written by the highly qualified con tributors to the June 1982 conference, dealing with the anatomical, biomechan ical, and neuroradiological aspects of skull base fractures and their consequences in neurologic and vascular dysfunction and deficits. Many authors from Europe and abroad have contributed to the high standard of this book. I would like to congratulate the Editors on the publication of this volume. It contains many important and interesting aspects of particular value to all medical and surgical specialists working in or on one of either sides of the skull base."

The Committee of Neurotraumatology of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies decided to elaborate a Glossary of Neuro- traumatology, and for this purpose appointed a subgroup of members of this Committee, headed by Dr. E. S. Gurdjian, whose report follows this preface. The main reason for the Committee's decision was the hope that the diffusion of the Glossary through "Acta Neurochirurgica" may bring about a better understanding of neurotraumatological terminology on a worldwide scale. The Glossary should facilitate the classification and the comparison of traumatic lesions of the Nervous System. It will consequently be easier to compile statistics and correctly interpret the informations thus obtained. The very commendable initiative of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in revising the terminology of head injuries and in publishing this work in Vol. 12 (1966) of "Clinical Neurosurgery" constitutes an important contribution. In 1977 the Glossary now presented endeav- ours to complete and bring up to date the definitions of anatomical or physiological modifications in the neurotraumatological field. We wish to express our thanks to Dr. Gurdjian and to the other members of the Neurotraumatological Committee who were responsible for the elaboration of this Glossary and whose efforts to standardise, as much as possible, the language used by scientists of different nationalities, have resulted in a better understanding between neurosurgeons.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative proce.dures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons-in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."