Greenfield's Neuropathology [antikvár]

Neuropathology, as surveyed in this volume, deals mainly with morphological aspects of the study of diseases of the nervous system. The foundations of this science were established in the nineteenth century by the pioneer neurohistologists in Francé, Germany and Spain, many whom combined clinical neuropsychiatric practice with laboratory investigation. Greenfield (1958) and subsequently Greenfield and Meyer (1963) and Blackwood (1976) briefly reviewed the historical development of neuropathology. The complexity of structure and composition of the nervous system necessitates a wide rangé of technical methods for its microscopic study. Each component has somé method of staining most appropriate for its visualization, and the importance of each method varies in different pathological conditions. The methods applied to the study of cases with complex neurological disease which may have required many hours of clinical investigation should be the most appropriate for each individual case. Obviously, therefore, the details of the clinical history of a case under study need to be known. As complete a post-mortem examination of the nervous system as is possible should be the aim in every case. Widespread sampling of tissues should be a routine procedure, so that the examination will include not only different areas of the brain and spinal cord but alsó nerve roots, sensory and autonomic ganglia, peripheral nerves, muscles, visceral innervation and sensory receptor organs. The brain should normally be fixed intact. Indiscriminate slicing of the fresh unfixed brain may preclude further useful study but it is possible to obtain fresh brain tissue without compromising later histological study. For example, a cut through one frontal lobé anterior to the lateral ventricle will provide a good sample of cortex