ABSTRACT
The nervous system performs many high-order functions that are not easily classified according to anatomical or chemical processes in which disorders tend to be recognized clinically in the form of a syndrome. The five main neural dysfunctions of complex origin and character to be discussed in this chapter are epilepsy and seizure disorders, the phenomenon of dementia, cognitive-perceptual deficiencies, behavioral illness, and disturbances of consciousness and coma. These five forms of complex neurological disease pose common difficulties for the forensic pathologist and neuropathologist because their pathology is complex or poorly understood, and there is often a great deal of difficulty in performing satisfactory clinical-pathological correlations using ordinary techniques. Furthermore, there are major problems in the clinical definitions and classifications of these conditions that further complicate the role of the pathologist in understanding and then communicating the results of his or her studies to interested parties. The forensic implications of these conditions are widespread and involve the practice of forensic pathology in the coroner’s or medical examiner’s environment as well as that of the neuropathologist, where, within the context of litigation, his or her special expertise may be required.
