Handbook of Clinical Neurology

1 total work

Autonomic Nervous System Part 2, Dysfunctions

Published 12 February 2001

Autonomic nervous system dysfunction and pathology are dealt with in this volume. The profound autonomic accompaniments of acute and chronic pain are given extensive coverage. Physical exertion, the demands it places on autonomic control, and resulting thermoregulatory failure, as well as sexual dysfunction, are conjoined in this volume. Common diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, neoplasia, the epilepsies, and cerebrovascular disease perturb homeostasis and thus activate compensatory autonomic mechanisms. Chapters covering the important autonomic concomitants of these diseases form a separate section in Part II of this two-volume work on the autonomic nervous system. Until recently, neurologists claiming the importance of the autonomic nervous system have had to face an uphill struggle. With the publication of the present volumes, the struggle should now be won by those who long ago recognized that the study of the autonomic nervous system is fundamental to well-being and to the understanding of neurological, mental and other diseases.