Disorders of neuromuscular transmission: a review

The neuromuscular junction is the site of a number of clinical disorders that are manifested primarily by weakness, including myasthenia gravis, the myasthenic syndrome, toxic disorders, congenital disorders, and botulism. The most common of these is myasthenia gravis, but the evaluation and treatment of all disorders require an understanding of normal neuromuscular mechanisms and the pathophysiology of the neuromuscular junction.