This paper describes the course of disease in an 11-year old boy with spinal epidural hematoma (SEH), and subsequently surveys 27 cases of SEH in children and young people. This group is compared in respect of aetiology, localization, symptoms and prognosis with the group of adults with SEH. This is followed by a suggestion of a nosological classification on aetiological lines taking the age distribution into consideration. The need for early operative decompression is stressed.

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Since the time of Hippocrates patients and their physicians have been highly interested in knowing whether, and with what degree of probability "undesirable events" will occur in the course of illness--whether without, in spite of, or because of therapy. In surgery especially, the concept of "risk" is a familiar one to all concerned. The present paper describes traditional and modern methods of quantifying risk and the goals of medical risk research. Application of the results of such research in practice is discussed and illustrated by examples from publications and the authors' own clinical research.