Neurology - Definition and Overview

Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Surgical operations on the nervous system are done by specialist neurosurgeons.

Neurological disorders are disorders of the central nervous system (brain, brainstem and cerebellum), the peripheral nervous system (including cranial nerves), and the autonomic nervous system (parts of which are located in both central and peripheral nervous system). Major conditions include:

• headache
• stupor and coma
• dementia, including Alzheimer's disease
• seizures and epilepsy
• sleep disorders
• cerebral palsy
• infections
• neoplasms,
• movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease
• demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis
• spinal cord disorders, and
• disorders of peripheral nerves, muscle and neuromuscular junctions.

Along with treating all of the above disorders, the responsibilities of a neurologist include making a finding of brain death when it is suspected that a patient is deceased, and filling out the paperwork to ensure issuance of a death certificate for the patient.

Many mental illnesses are believed to be neurological disorders of the central nervous system, but they are classified separately. They are not traditionally listed as neurological diseases because their causes are not definitely determined as biological, although there are good reasons to suspect that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have neuro-chemical causes.

External links

• http://www.aan.com American Academy of Neurology.
• http://www.neuropsychological.blogspot.com/ brainblog: news about our knowledge of the brain and behavior.

See also

• List of neurological disorders
• List of neurologists
• Clinical neurophysiology