Fundamental principles. Acute care surgery: general principles. Training in acute care surgery. Pathophysiology of acute Illness and injury. Shock states in acute care surgery. Basic operative techniques in trauma and acute care surgery. Trauma. The evolution of trauma care in the United states. Initial evaluation of the trauma patient. Traumatic brain injury. Maxillofacial injuries. Spinal column and spinal cord injury. Emergency (non-trauma) surgery: evaluation and management. Evaluation of the acute abdomen. Acute gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal obstruction and dysmotility síndromes. Appendicitis. Surgical critical care. Intensive care unit: the essentials-including. Acute respiratory dysfunction. Multiple organ dysfunction síndrome. Mechanical ventilator support. Special topics. EMTALA and other principles affecting the acute care surgeon. Informed surgical consent. Advance medical directives. Acute care surgery, ethics and the law. Scoring systems for injury and emergency general surgery.