What is Neurosurgery?
The American Board of Neurological Surgery has provided the following description of
the scope of neurosurgeons.
Neurological Surgery
A discipline of medicine and that specialty of surgery which provides
the operative and nonoperative management (i.e. prevention, diagnosis, evaluation,
treatment, critical care, and rehabilitation) of disorders of the central, peripheral, and
autonomic nervous systems, including their supporting structures and vascular supply; the
evaluation and treatment of pathological processes which modify the function or activity
of the nervous system, including the hypohysis; and the operative and nonoperative
management of pain. As such, neurological surgery encompasses treatment of adult and
pediatric patients with disorders of the nervous system; disorders of the brain, meninges,
and skull, and their blood supply, including the extracranial carotid and vertebral
arteries; disorders of the pituitary gland; disorders of the spinal cord, meninges, and
vertebral column, including those which may require treatment by spinal fusion or
instrumentation; and disorders of the cranial and spinal nerves throughout their
distribution.
The broad aim of the American Board of Neurological Surgery
is to encourage the study, improve the practice, elevate the standards, and advance the
science of neurological surgery, and thereby to serve the cause of public health.
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