What is neurology?

Neurology is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system.

Who is the neurologist?

The healthcare provider who specializes in neurology is called a neurologist. After completing medical school, healthcare providers specializing in adult neurology complete 1 year of residency in internal medicine and 3 years of neurology residency.

Neurologists treat disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Muscle disorders and pain
• Headache
• Epilepsy
• Neuritis and neuropathy
• Brain and spinal cord tumors
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson disease
• Stroke
• Myasthenia gravis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Alzheimer disease and other forms of memory problems 

As a specialist, the neurologist sees patients with a wide range of problems and may act as a patient’s principal or consulting healthcare provider, while the family healthcare provider, or primary care provider, is generally in charge of a patient’s total health care.