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The overview paper deals with fundamental constitutive issues in the elastic-plasticdamage rate theory and numerical analyses of the large strain elastic-plastic deformation behavior of anisotropically damaged ductile metals. The proposed model is based on a generalized macroscopic theory within the framework of nonlinear continuum damage mechanics taking into account kinematic description of damage. It employs the consideration of damaged as well as ¯ctitious undamaged con¯gurations related via metric transformations. To be able to address both the plastic °ow and the anisotropic damage process, respective Helmholtz free energy functions of the ¯ctitious undamaged con¯guration and of the current damaged con¯guration as well as a generalized yield condition and a damage criterion are introduced separately. The evolution laws for plastic and damage strains are based on numerous experimental observations and numerical calculations at the micro-level. Identi¯cation of material parameters is discussed in some detail. The applicability of the proposed continuum damage theory is demonstrated by numerical simulation of the inelastic deformation process of tension specimens.