This 14th volume of Advanaes in Neurosurgery includes the papers presented at the 36th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery in Berlin, May 12-15, 1985. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the program committee of the Society, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Klinger, Professors Brock, Dietz, Frowein, Lausberg, Wlillenweber, and Dr. Reuter for their assistance in selecting the contributions and in organizing the scientific program. The first main topic of the meeting was Spinal Cord Tumors. Introductory lectures dealing with basic anatomic knowledge, neuropathological as- pects, and neurologic problems were followed by reports on examinations using conventional neuroradiology, scintiscanning, computer tomography as well as the most recent method in the diagnosis of spinal tumors, the magnetic resonance tomography. Also presented were the results of a multicentered study on spinal tumors, ascertained in cooperation with 43 German and Austrian neurosurgical clinics. The participants reported in great detail on the statistical data they recorded from 3056 cases and on the scientific findings obtained from this study. The session concluded with lectures on the possibilities for surgical treatment of spinal tumors and on oncologic and radiotherapeutic mea- sures. E:x:perimental Neurosurgery was the second main topic. Leading authorities in the field presented interesting papers on topics such as the therapy of vasculogenetic brain edema, the determination of neurotransmitters in brain tumors, results of cerebral blood flow measurement, and im- proved operative techniques using laser radiation.