Neurorehabilitation together with functional neurosurgery are steadily growing fields. In order to encapsulate such concepts, the fourth official scientific meeting of the Neurorehabilitation and Reconstructive Neurosurgery Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) was held in Seoul. This volume is the fourth in a new series of proceedings covering the most important advancements in this field.

The XIV International Symposium on Brain Edema and Brain Tissue Injury took place in Warsaw, Poland, on 11-14 June 2008. Two prominent members of the International Society for Brain Edema: Dr. Igor Klatzo and Dr. Julien Hoff have passed away after the last 2005 Symposium in Ann Arbor, USA. Dr. Igor Klatzo was actually the founder of the Society, and the Advisory Board decided to commemorate Dr. Igor Klatzo by introducing a lecture named after him to be given at the Symposium. Prof. Dr. Hans-Jurgen Reulen has been honored to give the frst Igor Klatzo lecture entitled "Bulk Flow and Diffusion revisited, and Clinical Applications". This volume contains 65 out of the 104 papers presented at the Symposium as lectures or posters. The topics of the Symposium were similar to those discussed at the previous ones. Many discussions focused on clinical work especially diagnosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, and traumatic brain injury. Diagnosis and therapy, including surgical methods, have also been verifed. Much attention was drawn to the application of decompressive craniectomy in the treatment of posttr- matic intracranial hypertension. The pathomechanisms of brain edema and tissue injury studied in experimental models have been also presented.

88 short papers originating from the 12th International Symposium on Intracranial Pressure and Brain Monitoring held in August 2004 in Hong Kong present experimental as well as clinical research data on invasive and non-invasive intracranial pressure and brain biochemistry monitoring. The papers have undergone a peer-reviewing and are organized in nine sections: ICP management in head injury, neurochemical monitoring, intracranial hypertension, neuroimaging, hydrocephalus, clinical trails, experimental studies, brain compliance and biophysics.

More than 60 papers written by internationally recognized experts cover the broad spectrum of brain edema. The main topics treated are: ischemia & hemorrhage, trauma (experimental and clinical), cerebral hemorrhage, tumor, hydrocephlaus & intracranial pressure (ICP), neuromonitoring & neuroimaging, treatments, blood brain barrier, and miscellaneous.