Foreword to first edition

Pass any young doctor in the corridor of a busy general hospital and the chances are that person will be carrying an Oxford Handbook relevant to their current clinical attachment. Surprise any consultant reviewing notes from a recent clinic in the office and the same book may also be (more discreetly) close at hand. Previously, those dealing with the intricacies of clinical neurology were disadvantaged. Now, Hadi Manji, Seán Connolly, Neil Dorward, Neil Kitchen, Amrish Mehta, and Adrian Wills have put right this defect. The team offers expertise in clinical neurology, neurosurgery, neurophysiology, and neuroradiology. And, as consultants working in busy clinical neuroscience centres, each brings to his contribution the discipline of a classical approach to the neurological encounter together with pragmatism, much common sense, and a good deal of clinical experience.

This is not a book to read expecting the rich and discursive prose narratives of the eloquent clinical expositor; nor, equally, one in which to be ensnared by the weeds of descriptive reflexology or shackled by the competitive impedimenta of eponymous hagiography—although a useful appendix lists some names that have echoed through the corridors of neurological establishments down the ages. Rather, it is a book for both the specialist and generalist to consult when faced with the typical, but nonetheless complex, presentations of neurological and neurosurgical disorders; one from which to be reminded of how best to investigate and manage the many conditions—common and otherwise—that affect the central and peripheral nervous systems and muscle; and one that wisely sets out what to expect from laboratory investigations, and how these inform clinical formulations that remain the substance of clinical neurology. Bullet points, lists, and algorithms for diagnosis and management may not make for bedtime reading but they do provide an economic and invaluable synthesis for others of what needs to be known in order to manage diseases of the nervous system effectively. Having done this successfully for themselves on many occasions in the clinic and on the wards, the team of experts now passes on its experience and understanding of neurological and neurosurgical disease to a wider readership.

Do not look for copies of the Oxford Handbook of Neurology sitting undisturbed on dusty office shelves. This book will only be found alongside the many dog-eared and well-thumbed copies of its 35 companion volumes in the pockets and on the desktops of busy students of neurological disease.

Professor Alastair Compston

University of Cambridge

October 2006