Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Physicians specializing in the field of neurology are called neurologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with neurological disorders. Most neurologists are trained to treat and diagnose adults. Pediatric neurologists, nearly always a subspecialty of pediatrics, treat neurological disease in children.

Field of work

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Neurological disorders are disorders that affect the central nervous system (brain, brainstem and cerebellum), the peripheral nervous system (peripheral nerves - cranial nerves included), or the autonomic nervous system (parts of which are located in both central and peripheral nervous system). Neurologists also diagnose and treat some conditions in the musculoskeletal system.

Major conditions include:

• headache disorders such as migraine, cluster headache and tension headache
• epilepsy and seizure disorders
• neurodegenerative disorders, the most common class being dementias, including Alzheimer's disease
• cerebrovascular disease, such as transient ischemic attacks, and strokes (ischemic or hemorrhagic)
• sleep disorders
• cerebral palsy
• infections of the central nervous system (encephalitis), brain envelopes (meningitis) and peripheral nerves (neuritis), such as brain abscess, herpetic meningoencephalitis, aspergilloma, cerebral hydatic cyst
• some infections of the peripheral nervous system, such as tetanus and botulism
• neoplasms - tumors of the brain and its envelopes (brain tumors), spinal cord tumors, tumors of the peripheral nerves (neuroma)
• movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, chorea, hemiballismus, tic disorder, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
• demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, and of the peripheral nervous system, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
• spinal cord disorders - tumors, infections, trauma, malformations (e.g., myelocele, meningomyelocele, tethered cord)
• disorders of peripheral nerves, muscle (myopathy) and neuromuscular junctions
• traumatic injuries to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
• altered mental status, encephalopathy, stupor and coma

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