Book excerpt: Neurologic emergencies are a common reason for admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). A thorough understanding of the diseases and disorders affecting the pediatric central nervous system is vital for any physician or healthcare provider working in the PICU. In the following pages, an international panel of experts provides an in-depth discussion on the res- citation, stabilization, and ongoing care of the critically ill or injured child with central nervous system dysfunction. Once again, we would like to dedicate this textbook to our families and to the physicians and nurses who provide steadfast care every day in pediatric intensive care units across the globe. Derek S. Wheeler Hector R. Wong Thomas P. Shanley v Preface to Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence The ? eld of critical care medicine is growing at a tremendous pace, and tremendous advances in the understanding of critical illness have been realized in the last decade. My family has directly bene? ted from some of the technological and scienti? c advances made in the care of critically ill children. My son Ryan was born during my third year of medical school. By some peculiar happenstance, I was nearing completion of a 4-week rotation in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU).