Abstract
Over the last couple of years the European Spine Journal has become truly international with papers from all over the world, and at the same time it has increased its size. Professor Mulholland has selected and reviewed some 40 papers from over 200 published in 2007 and that he felt were of particular interest to practicing surgeons and would influence their management of patients, or papers that challenged established beliefs. Papers dealing with back pain, spondylolysis, tumors, spinal stenosis, spinal infection, clinical examination, lumbar disc herniation, spinal fractures, etc. are reviewed and their significance assessed. The aim of the review is to encourage readers to read the papers themselves, hopefully stimulated by the trenchant comments of the reviewer, both critical and laudatory.