Introduction and approach to the patient with neurological disease
Clinical neurology uses conversation, detailed questioning and discussion, observation, structured examination, and selective investigation to formulate problems into an anatomical and pathological framework. The competent neurologist senses and probes relevant components of the history, reliably elicits the physical signs, knows which investigations are necessary and relevant, appreciates the most likely underlying diagnosis and mechanism of disease, and communicates relevant information to the patient accurately, intelligibly, and sensitively. This system has evolved over several centuries, during which much knowledge has accumulated on structure and function in health and disease, the reliability of physical signs and laboratory investigations, and the nosology of disease....