ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to provide clinicians with a diagnostic and management algorithm for the evalua tion of patients with vertigo, to classify the type of ver tigo according to the timing (duration of the event) and possible triggers, to localize the lesion responsible within the peripheral or central vestibular system, and to treat the specific cause of vertigo in relation to the underlying pathophysiology. Vertigo represents a frequent complaint in general neurologic practice and emergency medicine. In this text a new approach to the evaluation of vertiginous patients is presented. In addition, significant advances in clinical, epidemiologic, and imaging in the field have increased our understanding of the pathogenesis of ver tigo and its management. A secondary goal is to discuss vestibular abnormalities such as the superior canal dehis cence, vestibular paroxysmia, and the simultaneous acute and chronic bilateral vestibular loss syndromes that have become better understood in the last decade. By virtue of their symptoms these patients frequently visit the neuro logist as the initial specialist or in expert consultation.
