Beginning June 9th and continuing through the summer, construction will be taking place on W. Mequon Road. Our office will remain open, and clients will still be able to access our driveway. However, we recommend planning ahead for potential delays.

Neurologic Examination

The neurologic examination is performed during every single consultation with a veterinary neurologist, such as Dr. Moeser.  The neuro exam is performed to answer several basic questions:

  1. Does the patient have a neurologic problem
  2. If the patient has a neurologic problem, does it involve the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, or both.
  3. If the central nervous system is implicated, the neuro exam helps neurolocalize which part of the CNS is affected.

 

Neurolocalization helps the neurologist make a differential list, and helps determine which part of the CNS should be imaged if advanced imaging (MRI or CT) is recommended.  When the brain is implicated by the history and/or neuro exam, the location may be the prosencephalon, the brain stem, the cerebellum, or involve multiple parts of the brain (multifocal intracranial).  

The spine is divided into four segments: C1-C5, C6-T2, T3-L3, and L4-S3.  The C stands for cervical, the T for thoracic and L for lumbar.  The number corresponds to the spinal cord segment in that anatomic region.  Just like with brain neurolocalization, diseases involving the spinal cord can have a multifocal nature and involve more than one of the above segments.

Illustration of Brain
Illustration of Spine