Here we discuss neurological disorders based on where the lesion is. This helps inform the cardinal two questions in clinical neurological assessment:

• Where is the lesion?
• What caused the lesion?

 

Major lesion sites in the CNS, PNS and muscles:

• Central nervous system (CNS) Lesions, this includes:
  • Brain disorders (including extraaxial lesions):
    • Behavioral syndromes (neuro-behavioral syndromes)
    • Leukoencephalopathy (white matter disease)
    • Brain stem diseases
  • Spinal cord lesions (myelopathy)
• Nerve and muscle (Neuromuscular disease patterns) this includes:
  • Peripheral nervous system disease (PNS) (nerve diseases):
    • Cranial neuropathies (Optic neuropathy CN II, Oculomotor neuropathy CN III, Trochlear nerve palsy CN IV, Abducens neuropathy CN VI, Trigeminal neuralgia CN V, Facial palsy VII, Glossopharyngeal neuralgia CN IX, Cavernous sinus syndrome, superior orbital fissure syndrome, Skull base syndromes)
    • Motor neuron disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Primary lateral sclerosis, Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (Kennedy disease), Spinal Muscular artrophy SMA and others)
    • Radiculopathy
    • Polyradiculopathy
    • Plexopathy (brachial or lumbosacral)
    • Mononeuropathy
    • Mononeuropathy multiplex
    • Distal Symmetric Polyneuropathy
    • Small fibre neuropathy
    • Autonomic neuropathy
  • NMJ Neuromuscular junction disorders
  • Muscle diseases (Myopathies)

 

Last modified: October 14, 2018