This handbook aims to present the main principles of general surgery in a concise and compact form for ready reference. Directed primarily to Senior House Officers and Surgical Registrars requiring an overview of general surgical practice, the text deliberately avoids blocks of descriptive text and information is presented in the form of notes, tables and classifications. Alhough the general layout of the book is regional, each chapter is based on a combination of organ and systems based information. Each topic is presented in an orderly sequence of clinical diagnosis, investigations, treatment, and the management of post-operative complications. Details of surgical technique are, however, kept to a minimum as this is not intended as an operative manual.