Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases

I'm a seasoned clinical neurologist and bought this book to refresh my knowledge of neuroanatomy. To all the med students and residents out there reading this, I can assure you that virtually all of the information in the book is used by practicing neurologists on a daily basis. This is stuff you really need to know; by the time you're in my situation most of it is second nature. The author does a great job of presenting, just as the title promises, clinically oriented neuroanatomy. It goes beyond that, though, because there's also a fair number of elementary discussions of common neurological diseases, including differential diagnosis and treatment considerations. A nice learning feature are the frequent mnemonics scattered through the text, e.g. for the functions of the hypothalmus, HEAL=homeostatic, endocrine, autonomic, limbic. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the case presentations with accompanying MRI/CT are excellent. Strongly recommended.

Every once in a while a special textbook comes along that makes a subject an utter delight to learn; "Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases" is most definitely such a text. The merits of this book are just too many to enumerate but I will provide some specific examples of its strengths.The book has great detail but the strength of its organization is what makes this aspect an asset rather than a liability. Most chapters have a 'Brief Anatomical Study Guide' at the beginning that rivals the content of most traditional Neuroanatomy texts. These sections are well illustrated with great descriptions. Furthermore this traditional approach is clearly delineated from the clinical content in the chapter which is marked with 'KCC' (Key Clinical Concept). Every clinical point in my Neuroscience course was covered in this book making it an invaluable resource for clarification. Sure there is WAY more clinical content in the book than in my course but because the sections are marked clearly it's easy to find specific vignettes. Each chapter ends with specific clinical problems that are discussed in full with ample radiographic images. The clinical cases for me served to test, clarify and reinforce the material presented in the brief anatomical study guide. They are no doubt the most 'fun' part of the book (thinking in Med School...OMG!!).Overall, rather than read through the same material trying to memorize (ala syllabus), going through the brief guide then the clinical concepts and finally the problems provided the necessary repetition yet also allowed for an innovative and engaging approach to learning.The author should really be applauded for his diligence and enthusiasm, it truly is infectious. The presence of numerous mnemonics and analogies (eg/ The Putamen-Globus Palladus ice cream cone analogy) show the type of effort and commitment to teaching that students crave. Also I really liked the bold highlighting of certain key words and phrases, it makes it so much easier to review. Simply by reading the bold terms and the surrounding text much of the key material can be assimilated (good for the Boards).Our assigned text was Nolte which is a great ATLAS (not much more) but this is an exemplary TEXT. The many illustrations in Blumenfeld's book emphasized concepts and were structured to be high yield. Nolte had more gross specimens and slides. So I used Blumenfeld exclusively for the written and the Nolte atlas (not the text!) for lab. This book is going to be on my shelf for many years to come. Bravo Dr. Blumenfeld!!

I can only echo the high praise already offered by the two previous reviewers on this web site. This is not only one of the finest if not the finest neuroanatomy teaching text that I have ever read, it is one of the finest summaries of general clinical neuroscience conceptual material I've ever read, with an obvious heavy emphasis on functional neuroanatomy. Although there are a few nits that I could pick about a few details,the level of excellence is uniform, the depth of coverage is just perfect for the advanced student, and the breadth of coverage is exceptional. The basic methodology for presenting material consists of a smoothly integrated presentation of graphical plates (outlining basic structures), clinical case materials including results of a very thorough neuro exam, and structural neuroimaging. Very clear and lucid presentations of cases. Very highly recommended. I basically cannot say enough good things about this text. It is the current benchmark in this field.

How does one take a difficult and arduous subject and make its study approachable, interesting and fun? Hal Blumenfeld has succeeded in doing this in his book on the most complex human system of all, Neuroanatomy. Medical students in their preclinical years often consider the study of the intricacies of the nervous system a dry and painful exercise of memory. Instead, Hal Blumenfeld uses real-life clinical cases gathered during his training as a neurologist to teach this very complicated topic. This comprehensive volume of 950 pages is organized in an user-friendly manner, and gives the novice reader all the necessary background information needed to embark on a colorful and fulfilling journey through the nervous sytem. The initial chapters include an introduction to clinical case presentation, an overview of the nervous system and its terminology, as well as a demonstration of the neurologic exam. A well-illustrated section on brain imaging techniques follows, which is extremely up to date and includes CT, MRI, angiography and functional neuroimaging.The rest of the book is logically organized into chapters which all start with an anatomical and clinical review. These are followed by the description of relevant clinical cases where the readers can immediately apply their freshly acquired knowledge to establish a diagnosis, while learning important elements of clinical management for various neurological conditions. Clear illustrations, pictures of anatomical specimens, summary tables, review exercises and mnemonics will help funnel all this information for long term storage straight into the hippocampus. Throughout the chapters, the book never loses its focus which is to link structure to function, to demonstrate how to test this function by the neurological exam and to provide relevant clinical examples of function disruption. This unique book should appeal to all medical students and residents learning Neuroanatomy and their teachers. Those in the field who need a refresher will rediscover functional Neuroanatomy as it should have been taught.

When teaching Neuroanatomy to medical students one is often confronted by a classroom of students with their eyes glazed over. This book is a remedy for this situation. Instead of learning Neuroanatomy via rote memorization, this exciting subject is brought to life through real world examples. In each section the anatomy and physiology are integrated with actual clinical cases that Dr. Blumenfeld has encountered during his clinical training. No longer will medical students wonder "Why do I need to know this?" because in every instance there are clinical cases that show the relevance of Neuroanatomy. For example this integrated approach is evidenced in the explanation of the visual system; from the transduction events in the retina and the subsequent passage of information thought the thalamus to the cortex and then how lesions at different levels of this system can result in dramatically different pathologies. As science has advanced and the genetic basis of diseases become known it was refreshing to see this material also touched upon in this volume. The cases are presented in two forms, short vignettes and longer treatments that allow the reader to hypothesize what the ailment is by analyzing the results from the physical and neurological exam, the lab results and the imaging studies. Prospective medical students will find this format a welcome departure to previous treatments of Neuroanatomy which typically relegate clinical relevance to a few paragraphs at the end of each chapter. The book is well illustrated and covers all the necessary subject matter and is supplemented by a helpful web site (neuroexam.com) where the neurological exam is demonstrated using streaming videos. The book is well written and contains useful mnemonics to aid in the memorization of crucial details. Despite the emphasis on clinical relevance the book does not short change when it comes to detailing the pathways and functional segregation of the nervous system. This book brings a fresh new look at a classical subject, and will be a great aid to both medical students learning Neuroanatomy for the first time and those students of the field who need a brief review.