Neurological examination
A structured clinical assessment of nervous system function, including mental status, cranial nerves, movement, sensation, coordination, and reflexes.
Mental status examination: A clinical assessment of attention, orientation, memory, language, and other cognitive functions. It samples cognition and behavior, the examination’s opening view of cerebral function.
Neuroanatomy: The study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. Anatomical pathways make the location suggested by a pattern of signs intelligible.
Neurological localization: The process of inferring the site of nervous-system dysfunction from symptoms, signs, and test results. The examination’s central diagnostic use is to narrow abnormalities to a neuroanatomical site.
Neurological history: A clinical account of neurological symptoms, their timing, progression, and associated factors. Symptoms reported in the history complement signs elicited during examination.
Cranial nerve examination: A bedside assessment of the sensory and motor functions of the twelve cranial nerves. Testing these nerves helps localize dysfunction to the brainstem, skull base, or individual nerves.
Neurophysiology: The study of how nervous-system cells, circuits, and organs function. Normal signaling provides the baseline against which abnormal responses are recognized.
Stroke: Brain injury caused by interrupted blood flow or bleeding within the brain. A focused examination can identify sudden focal deficits and help characterize their distribution.
Neuropsychological testing: The standardized assessment of cognitive abilities and behavior using structured tests. It examines cognition in greater depth than the brief mental-status portion of a bedside exam.
Motor examination: A clinical assessment of muscle bulk, tone, strength, and involuntary movement. Its findings distinguish weakness, abnormal tone, and movement disorders.
Dermatome: An area of skin whose sensory supply comes mainly from one spinal nerve root. A dermatomal sensory deficit can point toward a particular spinal nerve root.