Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system and disorders affecting it. Medical specialists in neurology are called neurologists. Surgical operations on the nervous system are done by specialist neurosurgeons.
Neurological disorders are disorders of the central nervous system (brain, brainstem and cerebellum), the peripheral nervous system (neuropathy, including cranial nerves), or the autonomic nervous system (parts of which are located in both central and peripheral nervous system). Major conditions include:
Along with treating all of the above disorders, the responsibilities of a neurologist include making a finding of brain death when it is suspected that a patient is deceased, and filling out the paperwork to ensure issuance of a death certificate for the patient.
Many mental illnesses are believed to be neurological disorders of the central nervous system, but they are classified separately. They are not traditionally listed as neurological diseases because their causes are not definitely determined as biological, although there are good reasons to suspect that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have neuro-chemical causes.
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