A branch of medicine dealing with the anatomy, physiology, and organic diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems. According to Charles Sherrington (1857-1952), Thomas Willis (1621-1675), who first came up with the term ‘neurology’ and who gave his name the arterial circle at the base of the brain, should be considered as the founder of neurology. This claim to fame largely rests on the book Cerebral pathology written by Willis in 1676, and which makes clear that he had some idea about reflexes and the localisation of functions, as well as providing the first credible descriptions of epilepsy, apoplexy and paralysis. During the 19th century, neurology and psychiatry were regarded as sharing common ground, as evidenced in Freud’s work on cerebral palsy. In the 20th century, however, they became somewhat artificially separated as a consequence of divergences in their underlying philosophies with regard to research and treatment methods. Since then, neurology and psychiatry have increasingly converged within the context of the neurosciences to give rise to neuropsychiatry.
See Cerebral palsy, Neuropsychology, Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Reflexology