Peripheral Nervous System: Overview
The peripheral somatic sensory neurons are bipolar neurons. The sensory neuron cell bodies reside in the dorsal root ganglion, that is, situated posterolateral to the spinal cord, usually at or…
Congenital Myopathies
Hypotonia and weakness are the major clinical features. Other characteristic features such as scoliosis, ptosis, and ophthalmoplegia may not be apparent at birth, and diagnosis may be delayed until gross-motor…
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I (Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease)
In the healthy newborn infant, purposeless extremity movements have a well-defined muscular tone, despite the lack of coordinated motor function. Concomitantly, full-term newborns have well-developed suck and swallow function. At…
Infantile Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ) Disorders
TRANSIENT NEONATAL MYASTHENIA GRAVIS (TNMG) Mothers with autoimmune MG have a 15% incidence of having babies with TNMG despite the finding that all infants born to seropositive mothers have circulating…
Neonatal Hypotonia
Two types of muscle tone can be assessed clinically: postural and phasic. Postural (antigravity) tone is a sustained, low-intensity muscle contraction in response to gravity. It is mediated by both…
Neurologic Evaluation of the Somatoform Patient: Cutaneous Distribution of Peripheral Nerves
Somatoform diagnoses encompass disorders of somatization, conversion, pain, body dysmorphic disorder, and hypochondriasis, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) criteria (American Psychiatric Association). Each is characterized…
Neurologic Evaluation of the Somatoform Patient: Somatoform Conversion Reactions
DIAGNOSIS Pain behavior in the context of chronic pain has a wide differential diagnosis, requiring clinicians to incorporate historical and examination findings into an unbiased patient-centered global assessment. However, sensory…
Peripheral Nerves of Feet, Painful Peripheral Neuropathies
Peripheral nerve degeneration is the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism. Axons require their neuronal cell bodies to remain healthy to maintain appropriate nerve activity and function; however, when neuronal damage occurs, the…
Diagnosis of Hip, Buttock, and Back Pain
In general, true hip pain manifests as groin pain that sometimes radiates to the knee. Thigh pain, buttock pain, and pain radiating below the knee are more often attributable to…
Examination of the Low Back Pain Patient
CLINICAL EVALUATION Focused history and physical examinations are fundamental elements in the assessment of low back pain. They are especially helpful in the preliminary classification of acute LBP into one…
