Combining Dr. Frank Netter's classic medical illus-trations with a first-rate， current text is a brilliant idea. The choice of authors could not be better； as a group they are well-regarded clinicians whose experi-ence as teachers， having national and sometimes inter-national reputations， is well illustrated by the clarity of their writing. Very clearly there has been great atten-tion to achieving a supple， readable style. The added images， such as the MRIs and other visual tools， are very well chosen. Their clarity for teaching purposes matches the text in quality， and these are nicely inte-grated with Netter's classic imagery. The most impres-sive thing about this effort is the marvelous embedding of Netter's illustrations into the text with preservation of coherence.
　　The original publication of these illustrations in the first Netter adas was a regular， albeit unofficial， part of medical school neurologic learning early in my career during the 1960s. Concomitantly， Netter's corollary bi-monthly wlute-covered slim paperback Clinical Symposia was always welcome with the new mail……more than one issue were frequently strewn on my desk. These were essentially mini atlases always centered by a striHng illustration immediately telling you what the dedicated subject would be. Each new edition was always accompanied by 15 to 20 new and now classic Netter illustrations. It was not clear how Ciba Pharmaceutical wanted to specifically influence us in trade for their marvelous free teaching aids. Now I wish I had saved many of them.

　　Combining Dr. Frank Netter's classic medical illus-trations with a first-rate， current text is a brilliant idea. The choice of authors could not be better； as a group they are well-regarded clinicians whose experi-ence as teachers， having national and sometimes inter-national reputations， is well illustrated by the clarity of their writing. Very clearly there has been great atten-tion to achieving a supple， readable style. The added images， such as the MRIs and other visual tools， are very well chosen. Their clarity for teaching purposes matches the text in quality， and these are nicely inte-grated with Netter's classic imagery. The most impres-sive thing about this effort is the marvelous embedding of Netter's illustrations into the text with preservation of coherence.
　　The original publication of these illustrations in the first Netter adas was a regular， albeit unofficial， part of medical school neurologic learning early in my career during the 1960s. Concomitantly， Netter's corollary bi-monthly wlute-covered slim paperback Clinical Symposia was always welcome with the new mail……more than one issue were frequently strewn on my desk. These were essentially mini atlases always centered by a striHng illustration immediately telling you what the dedicated subject would be. Each new edition was always accompanied by 15 to 20 new and now classic Netter illustrations. It was not clear how Ciba Pharmaceutical wanted to specifically influence us in trade for their marvelous free teaching aids. Now I wish I had saved many of them.
　　Dr. Netter's style is absolutely distinctive. It has the look of nud-20th century illustration art， somewhat like Norman Rockwell's. Not unlike a Rockwell， one can recognize a Netter illustration across the room. He is consistent no matter what his subject； his work，including its vivid coloration， is always particularly serious despite its sometimes cartoonish like appear-ance. Netter is distinctive the way all truly great artists'work invariably is， no matter what the level of sophis-tication. Think of Mondrian. Think of Francis Bacon.Totally different than Netter， they are good examples of great \"high\" art that are similarly distinctive and consistent. And such consistency， regardless of the subject， is surely part of what makes for genius with subsequent fame and greatness. Accompanied by their new text in two detailed parts covering the brain as well as the spinal cord and its related peripheral motor sensory units， Frank Netter's art has been beautifully resurrected once again. These will surely provide learn-ing with pleasure to yet another generation of medical students during their neurologic studies.

　　Dr.Frank H.Netter exemplified the distinct vocations of physiaan，artist，and teacher.Even moreimportant-he unified them.Netter's illustrations always began with meticulous research into the detailed human clinical anatomy and pathology， a philosophy that steered his broad and deep medical understanding.He often said： \"Clarifi-cation is the goal.No matter how beau-tifully painted， a medical illustration has little value ifit does not make clear a medical point.\" His greatest challenge and greatest success was charting middle course between artistic clarity and instructional complexity.That suc-cess is captured in this series， beginning in 1948， when the first comprehensive collection of Netter's work， a single volume， was published by CIBA Pharmaceuticals.It met with such success that over the following 40 years the collection was expanded into an 8-volume series-each devoted to a single body system.
　　In this second edition of the legendary series， we are delighted to offer Netter's timeless work now arranged and informed by modern text and radiologic imaging contributed by highly respected neurologic authorities from world-renowned medical institutions， and supple-mented with new illustrations created by artists working in the Netter tradition.Inside the classic green covers，students and practitioners will find hundreds of original works of art-the human body in pictures-paired with the latest in expert medical knowledge and innovation and anchored in the sublime style of Frank Netter.
　　Noted artist-physician， Carlos Machado， MD， the primary successor responsible for continuing the Netter tradition， has particular appreciation for the Green Book series， \"The Reproduaive Syste'm is ofspecial significance for those who， like me， deeply admire Dr.Netter's work.In this volume， he masters the representation oftextures of different surfaces， which I like to call 'the rhythm of the brush，' since it is the dimension， the direction of the strokes， and the interval separating them that create the illusion of given textures： organs have their external surfaces， the surfaces oftheir cavities， and texture oftheir parenchymas realistically represented.It set the style for the subsequent volumes ofNetter's Collection-each an amazing combination of painting masterpieces and precise scientific information.
　　Though the science and teaching ofmedicine endures changes in terminology， practice， and discovery， some things remain the same.A patient is a patient.A teacher is a teacher.And the pictures of Dr.Netter-he called them pictures， never paintings-remain the same blend of beautiful and instructional resources that have guided physicians' hands and nurtured their imaginations for more than half a century.
　　The original series could not exist without the dedica-tion of all those who edited， authored， or in other ways contributed， nor， ofcourse， without the excellence of Dr.Netter， For this exciting second edition， we also owe our gratitude to the Authors， Editors， Advisors， and Artists whose relendess efforts were instrumental in adapting these timeless works into reliable references for today's clinicians in training and in practice.From all ofus with the Netter Publishing Team at Elsevier， we thank you.