Medical practitioners, students can benefit from updated textbook on neurologic exams

For more than 40 years, neurologists have learned how to do thorough neurologic examinations with the help of DeMyer's The Neurologic Examination.

Now this classic textbook has been updated and revised in a new 6th Edition that includes full-color illustrations.

"At a time when our interactions with patients are threatened, and ill-advised short cuts are taken, a detailed history and thorough examination become even more critical in caring for our patients," said Dr. José Biller, co-author of the 6th Edition and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

"We hope this text will facilitate learning by teaching medical practitioners and students how to perform neurologic examinations. In addition, the text is an invaluable tool in teaching relevant neuroanatomy and neurophysiology while communicating how targeted diagnostic tests help clarify important clinical questions."

The original edition was written by the late Dr. William DeMyer (1924-2008). "His academic accomplishments and teaching were unsurpassed," Biller said. "DeMyer's The Neurologic Examination: A Programmed Text is one of the longest-running neurology texts. We were greatly honored -- and it was with great trepidation -- that we agreed to revise and update this textbook."

Using an interactive approach, the text allows readers to learn at their own pace as they work through clinical situations and rehearse skills and procedures. They also will learn how to tailor exams to different situations, including the unconscious patient, the face and head, vision, the peripheral ocular motor system, central ocular motor system, cerebellar dysfunction, somatic motor system and special senses.

"We hope this will remain one of the seminal texts on the neurologic exam," Biller said.