This 2nd edition of the "Oxford Textbook of Surgery on CD-ROM" has been developed using new browser software, with an easy-to-use interface. There are several ways to navigate into the data - in addition to a complete table of contents and the flexible search engine there is an index of all chapter titles which features "speed scrolling" for finding a particular chapter quickly. The free text search is very simple to use and will search the entire OTS 2e content, including captions, contributor names and references. It incorporates both Boolean operators and similar word matching, allowing the user to build up complex queries, as required. All queries are automatically stored in a drop-down menu for quick retrieval and searching can be restricted to chapter titles and previous search results. Internet links from journal references to abstracts in the Medline database on the web allow instant access to a wealth of further information on specific areas of interest. Images and tables are displayed "in line" with the text and canbe opened or closed to suit the user's preference.