PROFESSOR SIR KENNETH L. STUART Pain control has become one ofmedicine's most rapidly growing disciplines, and Iwelcome the opportunity to write this foreword to abook that Iam sure will make its own unique contribution to advancing this discipline. My pleasure in writing it is heightened by my pride in the fact that its editor was at one time an undergraduate student of mine at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. One of the uncertainties teachers always face is that they can never predict how their charges will turn out. This uncertainty has been happily resolved. Dr. Parris' professional career has been marked by the same dedication and commitment that characterized his undergraduate days and that clearly has been brought to the preparation of this scholarly and practical work. Pain reliefhas been until recently acomparatively neglected field. Its neglect was determined not so much by lack ofprofessional awareness ofits import­ ance but mainly because so little could be done about it in the past.