Neurological examination in small animals
Received: 19 December 2013
Received in revised form: 15 July 2019
Accepted: 16 January 2014
Available Online First: 17 February 2014
Published on: 15 March 2014
Correspondence: Viktor Paluš, viktorpalus@gmail.com
Abstract
This clinical review about the neurological examination in small animals describes the basics about the first steps of investigation when dealing with neurological patients. The knowledge of how to perform the neurological examination is important, however more important is how to correctly interpret these performed tests. A step-by-step approach is mandatory and examiners should master the order and the style of performing these tests. Neurological conditions can be sometimes very distressing for owners and for pets that might not be the most cooperating. The role of a veterinary surgeon, as a professional, is therefore to collect the most relevant history, to examine a patient in a professional manner and to give owners ad educated opinion about the further treatment and prognosis. However neurological examinations might look challenging for many. But it is only the clinical application of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology to an every-day situation for practicing veterinarians and it does not require any specific in-depth knowledge. This clinical review is aimed not only to provide the information on how to perform the neurological examination but it is also aimed to appeal on veterinarians to challenge their daily routine and to start practicing on neurologically normal patients. This is the best and only way to differentiate between the normal and abnormal in a real situation.
Keywords: neurological examination, dogs, cats, hands off examination, hands on examination
References
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Copyright
© 2014 Palus V. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation Information
Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 37, Issue 1, Pages 95-105, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.14432/j.macvetrev.2014.02.011, 2014
10.14432/j.macvetrev.2014.02.011
