W.DRIESEN This volume contains the original text of 60 papers delivered at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the German Society for Neurosurgery, held in TUbingen, 22nd to 25th April, 1981. They represent a selection from 91 papers submitted, a third of which had to be excluded on critical analysis. This was deemed necessary on account of costs, and in order to keep the volume of a size and standard usually achieved within the last few years. Three main subjects were considered: 1. changes in methods of investigation and treatment of neurosurgi cal.conditions, brought about by the use of computerised axial tomography (C.A.T . scanning); 2. papers dealing with fundamental research concerned with normal and abnormal cerebral metabolism; 3. trauma to the vertebral column and spinal cord, and its sequelae; and, 4. free communications. The organisers of this meeting tried, in contradistinction to pre vious custom, to shift the emphasis away from highlighting major communications, and so to remain true to their intention to allow experts in their fields to introduce their subjects and pin-point problems, to which subsequent speakers could then address them selves in detail in their own papers. In my view, this did occur in a meaningful way, although not to perfection; a goal always difficult to attain."