The neurologist also notes symptoms such as pain, headache, loss of sensation, weakness, incoordination, wasting of certain muscle groups, and abnormal movements. From full alertness a person can descend through drowsiness to stupor, a condition in which awareness is greatly reduced and the best motor response to stimulation is a groan or other vocal (but not verbal) reaction. Sensory organs of taste.

Traction headaches may be caused by brain swelling, infection, bleeding, tumour, stress, or obstructed flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Alzheimer's disease. Although the central nervous system is not supplied with sensory fibres that report sensations of pain, severe pain can result from thalamic strokes. A persistent pressing or pulling pain, often with a throbbing component, is usually described.

Finally, cotton is touched to the cornea to assess the corneal reflex. The upper eyelid is also examined for signs of drooping. Finally, an account is presented of the diseases of the nervous system, using a general classification based upon the primary or major site of the disease. A computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan of a brain affected by hydrocephalus, showing enlargement of the lateral ventricles (black regions) and accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid. An old saying in medicine, “Listen to the patient; he is telling you the diagnosis,” is especially true in neurology. Nervous system diseases. Neuralgia, or attacks of pain along the sensory nerves, are caused by irritation of some of the cranial nerves or spinal roots. Migraine headaches may occur simultaneously with tension headaches and are characterized by throbbing pain with scalp tenderness, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to noise and light. The first part of this article describes the neurological examination—the medical history, the physical examination of the patient, and the diagnostic tests and procedures that can be employed to provide a physician with information about a possible neurological disorder. Further testing may be performed in an audiometry laboratory. If cortical disease is suspected, tests for apraxias, aphasias, and agnosias; tests measuring the ability to draw and copy simple figures; and writing tests are performed. The sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles, supplied by the accessory nerve, are tested by the patient pushing his head forward and shrugging his shoulders upward against the physician’s resistance. Metabolic, toxic, and endocrine disorders, Raised or decreased intracranial pressure, Oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens nerves, Disorders of fat and fatty acid metabolism, Fluid, mineral, and electrolyte disorders, Toxic effects of drugs, metals, and poisons, University of Rochester Medical Center - Health Encyclopedia - Anatomy and Function of the Urinary System, LiveScience - Nervous System: Facts, Function and Diseases, Des Moines University - Nervous System Diseases, WebMD - Brain and Nervous System Health Center. Which of these scientists helped in the development of azidothymidine (AZT), the first drug used in the treatment of AIDS? The third part of this article provides an overview of pathological processes. Similar problems of language and speech comprehension are apraxia and agnosia. Diseases of The Brain and Nervous System. This consists of all other neural elements, including the peripheral nerves and the autonomic nerves. Also, many disorders affecting the peripheral nerves and muscles are painful. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The physician tests the olfactory nerve by placing items with specific, mild odours, such as coffee, tar, or lemon, under the nose of the patient. An instrument called a perimeter may be used to determine the central and peripheral visual fields. Deeper levels of unconsciousness pass through light coma, in which strong stimulation produces only a clumsy motor response, to deep coma, in which there is only a reflex movement or no response at all.

Symptoms expressed in the limbs and trunk that may indicate neurological disease include weakness and wasting of muscles, clumsiness, and unwanted movements. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The Weber test consists of placing the tuning fork on the forehead; the sound is better perceived either in the ear without nerve deafness or, paradoxically, in the ear affected by mild middle-ear deafness.

Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Alterations of sensation may be positive or negative; the former include tingling, burning, itching, and pain, while the latter consist of diminution or loss of some or all sensations. This consists of the brain and spinal cord. The cranial nerves (I–XII) and their areas of innervation.
The functions of the facial nerve are examined by the patient’s ability to close the eyes tightly, to bare the teeth, and to attempt to whistle.
Tests of the vestibular nerve are not routinely performed. The skeleton and muscles support and transport the body, and the digestive system, heart, and lungs provide nutrients; but the nervous system contains the epitome of the human—the mind—and commands all perception, thought, and action. Diseases of the Nervous System summarizes the current state of basic and clinical knowledge for the most common neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. The physician tests the three oculomotor nerves (oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens) together by asking the patient to gaze in different directions on command and to follow a moving object with the eyes only. Everything that humans sense, consider, and effect and all the unlearned reflexes of the body depend on the functioning of the nervous system. Nervous system disease, any of the diseases or disorders that affect the functioning of the human nervous system.Everything that humans sense, consider, and effect and all the unlearned reflexes of the body depend on the functioning of the nervous system. For a discussion of psychological disorders, see mental disorders. Tests of concentration, of recent and remote memory, of language, and of ability to follow simple spoken or written commands are usually given in order to evaluate the patient’s orientation in place and time. Apraxia is the inability to perform useful or skilled actions; apraxic patients may be able to name an object such as a comb or key, but they may not know how to use it. Although depression is most common, euphoria or mood swings may occur with disease of the frontal lobes of the brain. Weakness or clumsiness may be caused by diseases of the cerebellum, basal ganglia, or peripheral nerves. The physician examines motor functions of the trigeminal nerve by asking the patient to clench the teeth and by tapping the patient’s chin to test the jaw reflex. An ophthalmoscope is used to test the optic nerve and to see the optic disk, the retinas, and the small arteries and veins that lie upon them. A patient’s description of symptoms is a valuable tool that allows the physician to learn about the nature and location of a possible neurological disease. The central nervous system (CNS) represents the largest part of the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The usual screening procedure is to tip the patient’s head back and down 45 degrees and await the appearance of vertigo or nystagmus. The sensory functions of the nerve are examined by stimulating the face gently with the finger or cotton for light touch, cold steel for temperature, and a pin for scratch or pain sensation. Comprehension, reasoning, and planning can be tested, for example, by asking about the similarities and differences between two objects (e.g., child and dwarf, wall and fence) or by asking the patient to explain the message or moral contained in a proverb (e.g., “People in glass houses should not throw stones”). Irritation of the meninges, which may occur with intracranial infection or bleeding, leads to unusual stiffness on passive attempts to flex the neck, as well as to an inability to straighten the bent knee when the hip is flexed (the Kernig sign). Poor concentration resulting from preoccupation, fatigue, or depression is the most common cause of memory loss, but widespread brain disease, vitamin deficiency, epilepsy, and dementia (loss of intellectual power) are also causes. The ability to notice and react to one’s environment is not an on-off phenomenon but a continuum. Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System (A Health Education Guide) Neurological illnesses account for nearly 20% of the burden of illnesses in the community. Metabolic, toxic, and endocrine disorders, Raised or decreased intracranial pressure, Oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens nerves, Disorders of fat and fatty acid metabolism, Fluid, mineral, and electrolyte disorders, Toxic effects of drugs, metals, and poisons, University of Rochester Medical Center - Health Encyclopedia - Anatomy and Function of the Urinary System, LiveScience - Nervous System: Facts, Function and Diseases, Des Moines University - Nervous System Diseases, WebMD - Brain and Nervous System Health Center. Next the principles used in localizing a disease within the nervous system are explained. Nervous system disease - Nervous system disease - Emotional disturbances: Alteration in mood is a common sign of neurological disease, as a result of either the pathological process itself or of the patient’s awareness of the disease. This book explains the following topics: An overview of the Nervous System, Neuroradiology - The Imaging of the Brain, Coma - Unconscious state, Epilepsy, Paralysis - Stroke, Brain Hemorrhage, Migraine, Headaches and Vertigo, Movement Disorders and Dystonia, Parkinsonism, Dementia and tips to improve memory, Infectious diseases of the brain, AIDS … Standardized tests for examining these functions apply quantitative measurements to any deficit, which can be analyzed further by more sophisticated psychological testing. Problems in the production of speech sounds, called dysphonia, often indicate a problem affecting the larynx or the nerves and muscles of that structure.

Sensations carried by large, heavily myelinated fibres, such as position, discriminative light touch, and vibration, tend to be affected together, as do those carried by the smaller, thinly myelinated or nonmyelinated fibres, including pain, crude light touch, and temperature. The shape, size, and reactivity of the pupils—both to light and to close objects—are also tested. This is one of the few physiological reflexes that is normally not detected. The facial nerve also carries fibres subserving the function of taste on the front of the tongue, so weak solutions of sugar, salt, lemon, or vinegar can be used to test its function. When pressure inside the cranium is increased, pain-sensitive structures in and around the brain are distorted and cause pain in an ill-localized area but often identifiably in the front or back of the head called a traction headache. Such depression of consciousness occurs when there is impairment of the functions of the brainstem or of the cerebral cortex. Normally, an abrupt blink is produced. Disturbance or malfunction of the functions of the nervous system causes changes felt throughout the body. In addition to the brain and spinal cord, principal organs of the nervous system include the following: Eyes. Although many brain diseases cause disorders of thought or mood, this article discusses only diseases of the nervous system that have organic causes. Local disease of such cranial structures as the jaw joints, the paranasal sinuses and teeth, the middle ear, and the skull bones themselves may also generate pain.


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