Prepare to deliver the best patient care before, during, and after surgery with this approachable guide to surgical skills and operating room procedures. In addition to covering all the content in the AST Core Curriculum, this one-of-a-kind text offers a unique mentoring approach and engaging learning features that make even complex skills and techniques easy to understand. * COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE addresses all areas of the AST _Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology._ * READER-FRIENDLY WRITING STYLE AND ORGANIZATION builds content from fundamental concepts, aseptic technique, and the role and function of the surgical technologist, to the specialty surgical procedure chapters. * CONSISTENT CHAPTER FORMAT breaks down surgical procedures in an easy-to-understand way that helps you understand the key elements of more than 200 procedures. * EXPERIENCED AUTHOR/CONSULTING EDITOR TEAM lends a breadth of experience for a well-rounded and multi-perspective focus on operating room procedures and quality patient care. * OVER 1,200 FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS AND CLINICAL PHOTOS bring concepts and procedures to life. * ROBUST PRACTICE OPPORTUNITIES include review questions and case studies at the end of each chapter, along with additional review questions and surgical practice videos on the Evolve companion website. * LEARNING OBJECTIVES serve as checkpoints for comprehension and as study tools in preparation for examinations. * KEY TERMINOLOGY appears in boldface throughout chapter discussions with key terms defined and cross-referenced to a back-of-book glossary. * KEY CONCEPTS are covered in a bulleted list at the end of each chapter discussion to summarize and review chapter content. * REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES_ _provide a listing of in-text and additional citations of scientific research and best practices. * PATHOLOGY APPENDIX summarizes the most commonly seen pathological processes and organizes them by body system. * NEW! _ROBOTIC SURGERY_ CHAPTER describes the most advanced equipment and procedures involving surgical robots. * ADDITIONAL SKILLS CONTENT includes patient preparation, transporting, positioning, and draping. * EXPANDED COVERAGE OF ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES is featured in the _Minimally Invasive Surgery_ chapter.