Neurology
From Free net encyclopedia
Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Physicians specializing in the field of neurology are called neurologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with neurological disorders.
Contents |
Field of work
Neurological disorders are disorders that affect the central nervous system (brain, brainstem and cerebellum), the peripheral nervous system (peripheral nerves - cranial nerves included), or the autonomic nervous system (parts of which are located in both central and peripheral nervous system).
Major conditions include:
- headache disorders such as migraine and tension headache (cluster headache)
- epilepsy and seizure disorders
- neurodegenerative disorders, the most common class being dementias, including Alzheimer's disease
- cerebrovascular disease, such as transient ischemic attacks, and strokes (ischemic or hemorrhagic)
- sleep disorders
- cerebral palsy
- bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections of the central nervous system (encephalitis), brain envelopes (meningitis) and peripheral nerves (neuritis), such as brain abscess, herpetic meningoencephalitis, aspergilloma, cerebral hydatic cyst, tetanus, botulism
- neoplasms - tumors of the brain and its envelopes (brain tumors), spinal cord tumors, tumors of the peripheral nerves (neuroma)
- movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, chorea, hemiballismus, tic disorder, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
- demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, and of the peripheral nervous system, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- spinal cord disorders - tumors, infections, trauma, malformations (e.g., myelocele, meningomyelocele, tethered cord)
- disorders of peripheral nerves, muscle and neuromuscular junctions
- traumatic injuries to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
- altered mental status, encephalopathy, stupor and coma
Clinical tasks
General caseload
Neurologists are responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of all the above conditions. When surgical intervention is required, the neurologist may refer the patient to a neurosurgeon, an interventional neuroradiologist, or a neurointerventionalist. In some countries, additional legal responsibilities of a neurologist may include making a finding of brain death when it is suspected that a patient is deceased. Neurologists frequently care for people with hereditary (genetic) diseases when the major manifestations are neurological, as is frequently the case.
Neurologists may specialize in clinical neurophysiology, the field responsible for electroencephalography (EEG), nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG). The interpretation of such evoked potentials such as somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), visual evoked potentials (VEP) and brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) also falls under the domain of neurophysiology. Other neurologists may develop an interest in particular subfields, such as movement disorders, headaches, epilepsy, sleep disorders, multiple sclerosis or neuromuscular diseases.
Lumbar punctures are frequently performed by neurologists.
Overlap with psychiatry
Although many mental illnesses are believed to be neurological disorders affecting the central nervous system, traditionally they are classified separately, and treated by psychiatrists. In a 2002 review article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Professor Joseph B. Martin, Dean of Harvard Medical School and a neurologist by training, wrote that 'the separation of the two categories is arbitrary, often influenced by beliefs rather than proven scientific observations. And the fact that the brain and mind are one makes the separation artificial anyway.' (Martin JB. The integration of neurology, psychiatry and neuroscience in the 21st century. Am J Psychiatry 2002; 159:695-704)
There are strong indications that neuro-chemical mechanisms play an important role in the development of, for instance, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. As well, 'neurological' diseases often have 'psychiatric' manifestations, such as post-stroke depression, depression and dementia associated with Parkinson's disease, mood and cognitive dysfunctions in Alzheimer's disease, to name a few. Hence, there is no sharp distinction between neurology and psychiatry on a biological basis - this distinction has mainly practical reasons and strong historical roots (such as the dominance of Freud's psychoanalytic theory in psychiatric thinking in the first three quarters of the 20th century - which has since then been largely replaced by the focus on neurosciences - aided by the tremendous advances in genetics and neuroimaging recently.)
See also
- History of neurology
- List of neurological disorders
- List of neurologists
- Clinical neurophysiology
- Neuropsychiatry
- Psychiatry
- Neuroendocrinology
External links
- American Academy of Neurology
- brainblog: news about our knowledge of the brain and behavior.
- Journal Watch Neurology: collection of the most important neurology studies for practicing clinicians, summarized and with commentary.
| Health science – Medicine - edit |
|---|
| Anesthesiology | Dermatology | Emergency Medicine | General practice | Internal medicine | Neurology | Obstetrics & Gynaecology | Occupational Medicine | Pathology | Pediatrics | Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | Podiatry | Psychiatry | Public Health | Radiology | Surgery |
| Branches of Internal medicine |
| Cardiology | Endocrinology | Gastroenterology | Hematology | Infectious diseases | Intensive care medicine | Nephrology | Oncology | Pulmonology | Rheumatology |
| Branches of Surgery |
| General surgery | Cardiothoracic surgery | Neurosurgery | Ophthalmology | Organ Transplantation | Orthopedic surgery | Otolaryngology (ENT) | Pediatric surgery | Plastic surgery | Podiatric surgery | Urology | Vascular surgery |
Template:Neuroscience-footerbg:Неврология da:Neuromedicin de:Neurologie el:Νευρολογία es:Neurología fa:عصبشناسی fr:Neurologie ga:Néareolaíocht it:Neurologia he:נוירולוגיה lt:Neurologija nl:Neurologie ja:神経学 no:Nevrologi pl:Neurologia pt:Neurologia ru:Неврология sv:Neurologi tr:Nöroloji zh:神經學