1. A brief history of neurology

It took some time for our awareness of the nervous system to evolve: it was only after the Middle Ages that the current concepts accepted in regular Western medicine were developed. Important foundations for neurological theory were laid down in the 19th century. These were corroborated using scientific techniques in the 20th and 21st centuries, and many of these methods have become normal features of clinical practice. The substantial expansion of knowledge and understanding has given rise to more and more specialist fields of neurology.