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This book was compiled by the editors to share their experience in "treating problems regularly associated with paraplegia and quadriplegia." Let it be said at the outset that they succeeded admirably.
The chapters that are devoted to the editors' primary aim are preceded by a discussion of the anatomy, physiology, and neuropathology of the spinal cord, acute and chronic nontraumatic myelopathy, the clinical effects of spinal cord damage, and the diagnosis of myelopathies. Spinal cord compression is discussed further in the text, with emphasis on spondylotic myelopathy, metastatic epidural tumors, and epidural abscess.
The review of spinal cord anatomy includes recent information about structure, neurochemistry, and function. The neurophysiologic activity of the motor units, monosynaptic reflexes, and the function of interneurons is described in detail, with emphasis on the function of descending and sensory inputs that converge on the interneurons and motor pools. The section about neuropathologic changes provides