Surgical pathological considerations in inflammatory and transmissible diseases of the central nervous system

Inflammatory and transmissible disorders of the central nervous system are a heterogeneous group with regard to clinical presentation, character of the histologic lesions, and nature of etiologic agent, if known. The diagnosis of many of these requires an index of suspicion, special histologic or immunohistologic procedures, or electron microscopy. Some also demand cautious handling of potentially infective tissues. The present report reviews the diagnostic considerations for selective inflammatory/transmissible disorders of the central nervous system and outlines procedures used to minimize the chance of accidental transmission of the causative agents.