In December 2009, the Soroka University Medical Center celebrated its 50th anniversary. Following a difficult struggle, Soroka was established in 1959 as a small community hospital. Today, it is difficult to imagine the health services in Israel without a major hospital in the Negev. Soroka is presently providing quality primary, secondary and tertiary medical care to a diverse population of one million people from Kiryat Gat to Eilat. Soroka is the second largest hospital in Israel with over 200,000 emergency visits, 90,000 admissions, 32,000 surgeries and a birth rate of over 13,000 annually. in 1974, the Ben-Gurion University Medical School was opened adjacent to the hospital, with the vision and mission of training humane and skilled physicians and pursuing advanced medical education and research. Within the faculty's framework and the infrastructure of Soroka, the largest Department of Family Physicians in Israel was developed in the Negev. Graduates serve in most of the Negev clinics and have had a tremendous impact on health in the Negev. Many of the graduates are currently serving in key positions in Israel's health services. A third of the School's graduates are annually accepted for training at Soroka. This special edition includes 11 articles representing the clinical research carried out in the hospital's various divisions. They all expose clinical implications of general medical science and some are related to special health problems in the Negev with its diverse population--old native and new immigrants, Jews and Arab Bedouin.We salute Soroka on its outstanding achievements.