The field of geriatrics foundations is rooted in the classic papers of early descriptions of aging and age-related diseases. In Classic Papers in Geriatric Medicine with Current Commentaries, the authors chose the "classic" papers, providing a combination of expert opinion and objective assessment. The 15 areas in this volume represent the beginnings of practice and thoughts about the best ways to care for older patients. Each paper is introduced by a commentary describing the singular contributions of the chosen paper, with a short list of other important early papers in that area, and, in many cases, reflect on progress in that particular field. The commentaries are personal statements by the authors about the influence of the papers chosen; not meant to be exhaustive reviews of the clinical area in question. Classic Papers in Geriatric Medicine with Current Commentaries exemplifies the importance of a paper and its ability to retain its impact over time. While many of the classic papers in this collection have stood the test of time, others have gained classic status by virtue of their profound influence in relatively quick measure or because of timeliness in filling a void in knowledge.