"This textbook is intended for students in neurology and a variety of related disciplines who wish to learn the basic principles of neurology and to understand common neurologic diseases. It is designed to be read from cover to cover in a 3-4 week neurology rotation, or in a classroom situation, giving the reader a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of neurology.
The initial chapters cover the basic approach a clinician takes when encountering a patient with a neurologic problem, the key elements of the neurologic exam, and an overview of common neurologic tests. They discuss how to use the history and neurologic exam to localize the patient's problem to specific neuroanatomic sites and to use the neuroanatomic information along with results of appropriate laboratory tests to establish a diagnosis.
The second half of the book is divided into chapters that discuss common diseases presenting at different neuroanatomic sites along the neuroaxis, from muscle to the cerebral cortex, and chapters on diseases that have similar pathophysiologies. The authors selected 58 neurologic diseases based on their frequency, ability to represent that category of neurologic disease, value in teaching neuroscience concepts, and diagnostic importance. Each chapter begins with an overview to understand the common features of this group of diseases. Selected diseases are then discussed with an emphasis on the pathophysiology, major clinical features, major laboratory findings, and the principles of disease management. This book covers both adult and pediatric neurologic diseases as well as selected neurosurgical diseases.
Key features include:
- On the inside front cover of this book is an easily accessible Essential Neurologic Exam. This simple exam should be performed on every patient seen. Then, depending on patient history and abnormal findings, the exam can be expanded upon.
- The book can be used either on clinical rotations on a neurology service or in the classroom.
- The book focuses on the most important neurologic diseases, carefully selected based on frequency, ability to represent that category of neurologic disease, value in teaching neuroscience concepts, and diagnostic importance. Thus, students with a limited period of time can focus on the most important neurologic diseases that they need to understand. This is in contrast to existing texts that list virtually every disease within each category, with each disease given almost equal weight regardless of its importance, as a result of which the student can easily become confused as to which disease are important to understand.
- An early chapter discusses the common tests ordered for neurologic patients, including the basic principles of the test, when the test is helpful, and some general principles toward interpretation of the results. This approach helps students understand in the later chapters why certain tests are recommended for specific diseases.
- Each disease chapter begins with an extensive introduction that includes the features of illnesses that occur at that anatomic location or class of disease. This helps a reader understand how to localize neurologic illnesses that in turn leads to improved differential diagnosis and the better ordering of diagnostic tests. It also helps the reader understand how the nervous system is organized and how disease in each part can lead to specific types of signs and symptoms.
- Attention is focused on the pathophysiology of each disease, in contrast to books that just list signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests ordered, and drugs with doses that can be used. This book allows the student to better understand the etiology, the pathology and how the pathology causes neurologic signs and symptoms.
- Two color printing of illustrations greatly improves readability. No other common student book has this.
This book will be of interest to:
- Medical students taking a 3-4 week clinical rotation on neurology in their third or fourth year
- Medical students taking integrated neuroscience courses in which clinical diseases are mixed in with basic neuroscience
- Internal Medicine, Family Practice or Psychiatric house officers who want to learn about neurologic diseases for their residency boards; many residents in internal medicine rate neurologic diseases as the group of illness they know the least about.
- Neuropsychology students going for their PhD or clinical certificate; they usually have a lecture course on neurologic diseases.
- Psychology students going for their PhD in experimental psychology or abnormal psychology, who often take lecture courses on neurologic diseases.
- Physical, Occupational and Speech Pathology students; over a third of their training focuses on neurologic diseases and all take classes on neurologic diseases.
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residents; a considerable portion of their training deals with neurologic diseases.
- Nursing students taking a course on neurologic diseases.
- Undergraduate college courses on neuroscience, some of which focus on clinical diseases more than others."
Larry E. Davis, M.D., FACN, FACP, is Chief of the Neurology Service at the New Mexico VA Health Care System and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine
