Summary :
The third edition of Textbook of Clinical Neurology has been prepared for all clinicians directly involved with patients with neurological diseases: neurologists, neurosurgeons, internists, psychiatrists, and family practitioners, whether senior clinicians, residents, or students. Building on the successes of the prior editions (1999 and 2003), we have updated materials and added several new areas of discussion to cover the breadth of contemporary clinical neurology. The textbook's original structure, however, has not changed and remains anchored in the methods that neurologists utilize on a daily basis to approach, diagnose, and treat patients. Part One deals with the anatomical basis of neurological syndromes and outlines how the combinations of signs and symptoms direct clinicians to accurate localization within the nervous system. Part Two focuses on the available neurodiagnostic tools that refine the anatomical diagnosis and suggest specific etiologies. Finally, Part Three approaches the causes of neurological disorders, linking Parts One and Two, just as the active clinician must do to diagnose patients accurately and to select an appropriate treatment plan. This strategy is termed the clinical-anatomical method and has a strong historical tradition, originally introduced by the celebrated early French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot. Although neuroanatomical understanding, available tools, and etiological categories were more modest in prior centuries, the strategy of working from anatomy to ancillary diagnostic testing to a specific etiological diagnosis remains the anchor of clinical neurology in the 21st century. With extensive cross-referencing across chapters in the three parts, Textbook of Clinical Neurology allows readers to work through a neurological diagnosis and treatment plan at all points of the evaluation process. The chapter authors are authorities in their fields and have prepared materials that reflect the galloping expansion of information in neuroscience and its direct application to clinical medicine. References are up-to-date, with some recent reviews and new publications added during the proofing stage. Furthermore, all chapters in each part of Textbook of Clinical Neurology are written in a standard template, making it easier for readers to find specific material. I thank the authors especially for respecting this overriding organization and for recognizing that each contribution is not only a freestanding essay but also a part of a larger whole. As editor, I feel that readers deserve this cohesiveness as they move from one chapter to another. The senior authors for all but two chapters have remained unchanged from the last edition. This continuity of effort has facilitated my job as editor. The reality of career changes and evolving interests has allowed for some of these world leaders to bring in new coauthors and thus enrich the author list further. Two chapters have nonoverlapping authorship with the chapter of the same name from the second edition. Alexandru Barboi wrote the chapter “Cranial Nerves XI (Spinal Accessory) and XII (Hypoglossal),” and Julie Rowin and Matthew Meriggioli wrote the chapter “Proprioception, Touch, and Vibratory Sensation.” Though these chapters are new and reflect these authors’ own original scientific approaches, I have cited the earlier authors in footnotes because the chapters are based in part on those from the second edition. Textbook of Clinical Neurology has an accompanying DVD-ROM. On this disk readers will find a large number of video clips that illustrate topics referenced in the textbook. An icon appears in the margin of the text alerting the reader to the additional educational aids. The number and title of the video clip are given in the text. The video materials have been contributed by the authors and numerous colleagues, including my own co-workers at Rush University Medical Center. The DVD-ROM also contains a series of study questions for each chapter. In an age of continuing medical education and increasing certification requirements, these exercises may assist colleagues preparing for such challenges. However, the study questions are written for all readers and can be used for self-motivated study as well as teaching at all levels. I have shared them with medical students and residents in training and have tested my own comprehension of chapter material by reviewing the questions and answers. Each question has multiple options, and the correct answer is provided with a discussion. The questions are not part of the printed textbook, because the DVD-ROM is the preferred format for these interactive exercises. For all chapters, the authors and I have tried to make these questions instructive and clinically pertinent. The DVD-ROM self-launches and is readily usable on personal computers of different formats. Throughout the preparation of this textbook, I have benefited from collaboration with many professionals. In addition to the authors, the staff at Elsevier—Susan Pioli, Rebecca Gaertner, Laurie Anello, Bruce Robison—have been particularly supportive, as has Clay Cansler of P. M. Gordon Associates. Within my own office, Bernadette Gillard has served as editorial assistant and has managed the project with grace and exactitude. The video materials were prepared for the master disk by my colleague Teresa Chmura, whose artistic vision and technical skills are of consistently high quality. Finally, I mention Eric J. Pappert, who was the original coeditor of the first edition. Although he was not involved in the second or third edition, he participated as an equal partner in the original project and his scientific style and organizational excellence still resonate in the structural format of this edition. I began this preface with a reference to Jean-Martin Charcot and would like to close it with two quotations from him that set the intellectual framework for the coming chapters. They deal with the role of the physician in approaching new discoveries and the intellectual agility required to integrate new information. In a scientific climate of ever-increasing amounts of data and a growing tendency to seek knowledge through entertainment, the sober discipline of Charcot, his tenacious embrace of careful study, and his willingness to discover are important guideposts to the modern physician dealing with neurological patients. Through a great master's words, I evoke the thematic anchors of Textbook of Clinical Neurology and hope that they will be kept in mind as readers access this book: Because he is so complex, he is an excellent patient to study. After all, clinical medicine is primarily the study of the difficult aspects and complexities of disease. When a patient calls on you, he is under no obligation to have a simple disease just to please you. (1887) …This may seem to be beyond imagination. And yet, it is a fact—one that we must get used to. Such was the case for so many other ideas which are today universally accepted because they are based on demonstrable evidence, but which met only skepticism and often sarcasm for so long—it is only a matter of time. (1888)

Copies :