MedicineNeurologyNeuromuscular DisordersPeripheral Neuropathies
This compilation of excellent reviews concerns the biologic features and diseases of peripheral nerves in all aspects, from ultrastructure to rehabilitation, and including every conceivable neuropathy. It is likely to be the definitive reference, although it differs from the comparable pair of volumes in the<i>Handbook of Clinical Neurology</i>primarily because the contributors here are mostly English and American, while the<i>Handbook</i>has more Continental representation. The subject matter is important to thousands of patients. Here are two volumes, 70 chapters, 1,438 pages, and an index of 51 pages. The need for such extensive documentation stems from the advances since the end of World War II: electromyographic methods to study nerve conduction velocity, ultrastructural study, nerve biopsy, and teased fiber preparations, all applied to human disease and numerous experimental disorders. The notion that neuropathies might be separated into those caused by segmental demyelination (= slow conduction = Schwann cell disease) and axonal