Abstract
In this work a software framework for the virtual surgical simulation is presented. Our environment ESQUI (The acronym comes from the Spanish "Entorno para Simulacion QUIrurgica", i.e. Framework for Surgical Simulation) is based on an open software and multi-platform architecture (Unix, Windows, etc.), resulting in a suitable framework for research and development. The modularity and connectivity between its components allow the environment to be extensible and adaptable to any type of virtual simulation. The virtual surgical scene is described by an XML file that contains all the necessary information for the simulation. This file description language has been named Surgical Reality Modeling Language (SRML). Although our framework is still under development and needs validation in education and clinical training, our environment ESQUI has proved to be a modular platform that runs across most important areas of virtual surgical simulation.