Many of the most serious side effects associated with prolonged corticosteroid therapy can be avoided by various adjunctive measures that permit use of lowered doses and by frequent attempts to withdraw the steroids.This is the fifth in a series of 12 articles—edited by Henry N. Claman—on the corticosteroids: the state of the therapeutic art. Other topics to be covered are the use of corticosteroids in dermatologic diseases, by William L. Weston; in ophthalmologic diseases, by Howard M. Leibowitz; and in neurologic diseases, by George W. Ellison. The series will conclude with articles on corticosteroids and infections, by Michael Grieco; on corticosteroids in malignant disease, by Marc E. Lippman; on special problems of steroid therapy in pediatric patients, by Elliot F. Ellis; and on corticosteroids and adrenal Junction, by Nicholas P. Christy.