ABSTRACT
Clinicians in the Western world work in a diagnostic environment in which tests of one kind or another play an increasingly important diagnostic role. This chapter considers simple and relatively common disorders of visual sensory and oculomotor function. Disorders such as epilepsy, which manifest as recurrent, paroxysmal dysfunction of the central nervous system, continue to pose diagnostic difficulties. Specific difficulties indicating a language disorder include word-finding problems, word errors, grammatical mistakes, difficulty understanding words and grammar, or problems with reading and writing. The chapter provides clinical aspects of involuntary movements, and how to use the clinical examination to differentiate between the different types of movement disorder. It discusses the clinical approach to patients with insidious worsening headache who commonly present to the outpatient clinic, and patients with acute onset headache who require urgent hospital admission and assessment to exclude potentially life-threatening conditions.
