Three topics of major interest for neursurgeons are coveredin this volume of the Advances in Neurosurgery series, asthe title suggests. First, neurosurgical standards ofdiagnosis and treatment are viewed from several points ofview, including the legal one. Second, the many aspects ofaneurysm surgery are dealt with: timing and grading,monitoring during the operation, postoperative vasospasm,Doppler sonography and new research in subarachnoidhemorrhage. Third, the diagnosis and treatment of malignantgliomas are discussed; there are preliminary reports oninterstitial laser-assisted thermal therapy, immunotherapyand radiopharmaceutical substances as well as the standardforms of neurosurgical and radiation treatment.