[Examination and observation of the unconscious patient]

The old neurological art of careful examination and detailed description of an unconscious patient delivers a vivid picture of cerebral functions and deficiencies. Daily medical practice, however, demands immediate information with measurable and easily comparable numerical values. This requirement is best satisfied by the current proven and universally accepted 'Glasgow Coma Scale'. Dispensing with the terms: somnolent, soporous and comatose, the GCS numerically marks the depth of the disturbances of consciousness, which, recorded in a graph, indicate the fluctuations of consciousness. The registration of the depth and duration of clouded consciousness is a decisive criterion for the prognosis.