Apprentices in surgery need a basic set of practical skills in order to care for their patients well. Although many of these skills are the same as those used by their 20th century predecessors, today's trainees need to keep abreast of rapidly changing and advancing technologies that were not available even ten years go.

At the same time, basic surgical training for medical students and for junior doctors is being compressed into a shorter timeframe, as other medical specialties evolve and need to be taught in growing curricula. There is increasing emphasis on communication skills, and self-directed learning in many undergraduate programmes, and the student of surgery today has, therefore, to learn more in less available time. He or she will have less `hands on' experience in theatre, ward or clinic and inevitably the practical aspects of surgery tend to suffer.

This book aims to facilitate the more rapid learning required in a modern surgical programme, with concise chapters on the main techniques that need to be mastered in the early years of training. It is intended to be read by senior medical students, and housemen or interns, but may also be a useful revision for those about to take their first surgical postgraduate examinations.

This book is written by working general surgeons to enhance the practical training of their own teams. It is also an international collaboration between London and New Delhi, and will be of use to students studying the art and science of surgery everywhere. It is not an exhaustive reference book, but more of a brief guide, to be used as a learning tool mainly in operating theatres and emergency rooms. It contains simple lists and diagrams with no superfluous text. There are clear explanations which should aid students, from scrubbing up to suturing up.