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Major advances in the field of salt and water metabolism in the last 20 years have contributed greatly to our understanding of the pathophysiology of many disease states, and have significantly altered clinical practice on every hospital service. These contributions to therapy have not been heralded by the lay press, as have the dramatic successes of new operations and "wonder" drugs in the management of the seriously ill; nevertheless, the proper handling of fluid and electrolytes have made such advances possible. Neurologists and neurosurgeons have been rather slow to apply the new information to their patients, despite the fact that derangements of nervous system function provide the main clinical manifestation of disordered salt and water metabolism. The author has been actively interested in this field with particular reference to the problems of neurosurgery and has made useful contributions to the experimental and clinical literature. He has produced, in just 83