Book excerpt: Demographic trends confirm what clinicians already know - they are spending increasing amounts of time dealing with older people. This new ABC provides an introduction to the new and increasing challenges of treating older patients in a variety of settings. ABC of Geriatric Medicine provides an overview of geriatric medicine in practice. Chapters are written by experts, and are based on the specialty geriatric medicine curriculum in the UK. ABC of Geriatric Medicine is a highly illustrated, informative, and practical source of knowledge, with links to further information and resources. It is an essential guide where management of the ageing population is a major health issue - for hospital and family doctors, students, nurses and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.