Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology

 
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Preface
made invaluable contributions: Roland Eastman, Anthony
Amato, Edward Bromfield, James Lance, Marc Dinkin, Jun
Kimura, Jaime Toro, Elio Lugaresi, and Werner Hacke. We
are indebted to Susan Pioli for her superb editorial skills,
Desi Allevato of Silverchair for her compositing efforts, and
Kim Davis of McGraw-Hill for her efficient work as our
developmental editor. We thank Anne Sydor of McGraw-
Hill for her publishing expertise and for promoting the
goals of the book.
This ninth edition introduces as an author a consummate
neurologic clinician and teacher, Dr. Martin A. Samuels.
Marty brings intelligence, style and accessibility to Neurol-
ogy and particularly to its interface with Internal Medicine.
His thoughtfulness and clinical experience extends to all
aspects of clinical material, and his exceptional teaching
skills have been used to full extent in updating the text. It
has been a pleasure for us to challenge each other in consid-
ering the needs of our clinician colleagues during the pro-
cess of rewriting the text. 
We are, of course, products of our exposure to influential
if not charismatic teachers. Raymond D. Adams was the
progenitor of several generations of influential neurolo-
gists. He inculcated a method for approaching complicated
neurological problems in a manageable way. Observing his
analysis of a patient’s problem gave students the impres-
sion of remarkable ease and fluidity reminiscent of watch-
ing a gifted artist or musician. Dr. Adams knew the field so
well and thought so critically, based in large part on his
experience with neuropathology, that he allowed all of his
residents to believe that they too, could and should aspire
to excellence. His encouragement and cultivation of enor-
mously talented colleagues such as C. Miller Fisher and E.P.
Richardson, among many others of that time, reflected an
unpretentious self-confidence, flexibility of mind, and mas-
tery that derived enjoyment from the brightness around
him. He read widely in neurology, medicine, and literature
(in several languages; he often reminded us by providing
articles that were beyond our personal reach) and was
always ready to incorporate the modern advances in sci-
ence into his thinking. His hundreds of residents wished to
model themselves after him not because of personal sua-
sion or celebrity but because of a genuine admiration for his
intellect and intensely cultivated clinical skills. In tribute to
Dr. Adams this ninth edition, published soon after his
death, serves as recognition of his lasting accomplishments
from his grateful students. 
Allan H. Ropper, MD
Martin A. Samuels, MD
Boston, March 2009
Raymond D. Adams 
1911–2008

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PA R T
1
THE CLINICAL METHOD
OF NEUROLOGY

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