All the characteristics and driving force of The Cleveland Clinic are to be found in this book on pelvic—oor function. The Cleveland Clinic is a group practice founded in 1921 on the principles of cooperation,collaboration,and collegiality.Its founders believed that many physicians working together will discover better solutions to medical problems than physicians working in isolation. They believed that the combination of disciplines, with their inherent differences in philosophy and skills, will produce a better outcome than might have evolved singularly. The power of the collaborative approach is on full display in this book. The pelvic—oor unites three separate organ systems. Before this time, each has been approached individually. Urologists, gynecologists, and colorectal surgeons are each trained in their own disciplines, and the pelvic—oor is subsumed in these larger fields of study. When they combine their focus on the pelvic—oor, they bring their unique perspectives and different approaches to a common goal: the relief of pelvic—oor syndromes such as incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.