This PhD in "Advanced Surgical Technologies" aims at providing young medical graduates with training in science and technology so that, by learning the best established and innovative diagnostic and operating technologies used in general surgery, the pathology of the digestive and vascular system, the male urinary and genital tract, the organs of hearing, phonation and the neck, they may engage in scientific and technological research and publish scholarly articles regarding their findings. The PhD course is divided as follows : Curriculum A: Advanced Surgical Technology; Curriculum B: Pathology of the Organs of the Neck and Biocompatibility; Curriculum C: Surgery. Scientific areas: General Surgery, Urology, Otolaryngology. Candidates are admitted to the course by passing a public entrance examination. Admission to the PhD entrance examination is open to those who, on the date of the established deadline, possess a medical degree as per the old or new syllabi or an equivalent qualification obtained abroad and approved by the Faculty and deemed acceptable for admission to the present PhD programme. Attendance at this PhD course is incompatible with enrolment in any other PhD degree course whatsoever, in schools of specialization and level I and II Master programmes. The main learning objective is the scientific training of surgeons who should be able, at the end of the course, to plan, conduct, analyse and conclude research independently. This objective shall be achieved by providing doctoral students the technical and practical knowledge related to the above-mentioned disciplines. The course foresees, furthermore, that the PhD candidates’ training consist in acquisition of diagnostic and research methods and techniques, by moving from clinical research fostering knowledge and methodologies aimed at understanding and applying the best possible treatment to clinical cases. The basics of the theoretical course will be directed initially towards an acquisition of clinical research methodology , including the statistical analyses applied in the field at the moment. At a later stage, current issues of pathophysiological knowledge of diseases will be addressed. Particular attention will be paid to neoplastic diseases and particular emphasis placed on pathophysiological conditions induced by surgical intervention. As to diseases of surgical interest, issues of basic research, including knowledge of molecular genetics, neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms will be addressed as well as new therapeutic strategies and the development of innovative surgical and minimally-invasive methodologies. The practical part of the course will require attendance at the laboratories, on the wards and in the operating theatres where the members of the PhD teaching staff work. The main objective of this PhD course is to train researchers capable of carrying out autonomous, experimental and clinical research. The goal that the course staff proposes is the creation of a theoretical-practical, experimental and clinical learning pathway such as to permit the students to acquire the latest diagnostic and therapeutic methods and later apply these to research projects aimed at solving pathogenic, diagnostic and therapeutic problems accruing to surgery, otorhinolaryngology or urology. To achieve this, the teaching staff includes highly qualified, surgical, ENT and urology professionals. For several years now, the members of the teaching staff in question cooperate with each other and with the most highly qualified national and international departments, thus integrating many different skills. This integration has led to the production of internationally qualified scientific outcomes relating to the surgical science underscoring this PhD course and acting as a guarantee for the formation of the PhD students enrolled in the programme. Moreover, the close integration between the care units (departments, clinics) and research laboratories belonging to the different departments fosters a logistics structure capable of achieving educational goals in terms of experimental and clinical research. The teaching staff is also in a position to provide the PhD candidates with research periods abroad. The educational objectives foreseen for the three-year period of the course are the following: 1) the acquisition of adequate, up-to-date general medical and cultural knowledge 2) mastery of theoretical and practical methodologies; 3) the ability to design and develop research projects.