Fundamentals of neurosurgery

A handbook of Medical Students Edited by Borislav Kitov

Preface
Neurosurgery is one of the medical specialties that has made a substantial progress during the last three decades. It is largely due to the rapid development of contemporary cutting-edge imaging modalities which can diagnose CNS lesions that would otherwise be invisible for the naked eye. The introduction of microsurgical and stereotactic radiosurgical techniques into routine neurosurgical practice has made possible the reach of cerebral and spinal lesions that for a long time have been deemed to be unapproachable. In addition, all this can be achieved at the cost of minimal or no trauma to the adjacent neural tissue.
Despite current advances, we cannot but admit that the outcome of the disease depends on the stage at which it was diagnosed. Delayed diagnosis of CNS lesions can lead to irreversible damage which could not be restored even with the use of appropriate treatment. Therefore, ambulatory practicians should be familiar with the fundamental neurosurgical pathologies in order to be able to properly guide patients to specialized units that can offer up-to-date diagnostic and treatment options.
In this book, we have made an effort to provide basic knowledge of the epidemiology, etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of the versatile neurosurgical diseases. Thus, future clinicians should be able to make correct diagnosis on time.
The authors