Neurologic differential diagnosis in podiatry

This article is an overview of a variety of neurologic disorders that a podiatrist may encounter. Obviously, the topic is broad. A method of forming a differential diagnosis is attempted, rather than generating a list of disorders. To make a diagnosis, neurologists identify the affected area of the nervous system, then generate a differential diagnosis of the disorders that cause disease in that location. The reader is referred to general neurology textbooks for further details. A brief review of the anatomy of the nervous system clarifies the origin of neurologic symptoms. Common neurologic symptoms and signs are discussed. The presentation of diseases that occur in specific systems, including lesions of the muscle, neuromuscular junction, nerve, plexus, nerve roots, anterior horn cells, spinal cord, and brain, are also described.