Increasing specialisation in pathology reflects the progressive changes in medical practise. The advent of a specialist with a new interest in a hospital or clinic may present the pathologist with a need to extend his or her knowledge to be able to work closely with the clinical practi tioner in order to provide adequate clinical care. Some sub-specialisations are long established, such a one is neu ropathology. However, an exclusive specialist practise is generally con fined to neurosurgical centres and much neuropathology is of necessity, executed by geneni.l pathologists. The areas covered by this volume are those which are commonly managed by the generalist. Professor Adams' account of how the skull and brain should be examined here will give confidence to many by defining a good technique and the careful description of various kinds of vascular injury lesions resulting from raised intracranial pressure will help to clarify repeated difficulty. More subtle forms of damage are also considered in detail. Professor Weller provides a detailed account of how the central nervous system may be examined in a way which permits all of us to prepare material which will allow adequate investigation of central nervous system disease and the proper examination of peripheral nerves. This chapter will become a "handbook" and will be of interest to those in training and established practitioners. Muscle biopsy is also dealt with; this is an area of investigative concern for many gener alists. The role of that singular neuropathological technique is very clearly emphasized.

Although most textbooks of neurology contain a certain amount of pathological informa tion, neuropathology has often been treated in isolation. However, neuropathology has a close relationship to clinical neurology, neurosurgery and neuroradiology. Thus, advances in the rapidity and accuracy of pathological diagnosis have often led to changes in clinical management and, recently, improvements in clinical diagnosis, particularly CT scanning, have brought about a change in emphasis in the practice of neuropathology. In this textbook we have sought to present a widely based account of neuropathology in combination with information from clinical experience. We chose this approach in order to emphasize the close interrelation between clinician and pathologist. The book grew out of a course organised jointly by two neurologists and two neuropathologists from the Depart ments of Neuropathology and Neurology of The London Hospital and The University of Southampton. It is hoped that the book will be useful not only to pathologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and neuroradiologists, but also to general physicians. In a period of rapid advance in knowledge it is important to recognise how changes in the clinical and laboratory disciplines overlap. In order to make the most of consultations with pathologist colleagues the clinician must know what skills and techniques are available in the laboratory, and similarly, the pathologist must keep abreast of changes in clinical practice. In the past the clinician and pathologist have often been slow to appreciate advances in each other's fields."