Snell’s Clinical Neuroanatomy 8th Edition

Book Preface

This book contains the basic neuroanatomical facts necessary for the practice of medicine. It is suitable for medical students, dental students, nurses, and allied health students. Residents find this book useful during their rotations. The functional organization of the nervous system has been emphasized and indicates how injury and disease can result in neurologic deficits. The amount of factual information has been strictly limited to that which is clinically important.

In this edition, authorship has transitioned from the late Dr. Richard Snell, who, with brilliance and dedication, fathered the previous seven editions and provided the framework for the eighth. The content of each chapter has been reviewed and edited to be more straightforward and concise. The traditional artwork has been recolored and updated to enhance the clarity and to provide additional information to each image. High-quality magnetic resonance images and histologic photomicrographs have been updated to provide greater visual details. Each chapter introduces the relevance of neuroanatomy through a short case report.

0 Clinical Example. A short case report that serves to dramatize the relevance of neuroanatomy introduces each chapter.

0 Chapter Objectives. This section details the material that is most important to learn and understand in each chapter.

0 Basic Neuroanatomy.

This section provides basic information on neuroanatomical structures that are of clinical importance. Numerous examples of normal radiographs, CT scans, MRls, and PET scans are also provided. Many cross-sectional diagrams have been included to stimulate students to think in terms of three-dimensional anatomy, which is so important in the interpretation of CT scans and MR images.

0 Clinical Notes. This section provides the practical application of neuroanatomical facts that are essential in clinical practice. It emphasizes the structures that the clinician will encounter when making a diagnosis and treating a patient. It also provides the information necessary to understand many procedures and techniques and notes the anatomical “pitfalls” commonly encountered.

0 NEW! Key Concepts. These quick, bulleted reviews of key topics and information are provided at the end of each chapter.

0 Clinical Problem Solving. This section provides the student with many examples of clinical situations in which a knowledge of neuroanatomy is necessary to solve clinical problems and to institute treatment; solutions to the problems are provided at the end of the chapter.

0 Review Questions. The purpose of the questions is threefold: to focus attention on areas of importance, to enable students to assess their areas of weakness, and to provide a form of self-evaluation when questions are answered under examination conditions. Some of the questions are centered around a clinical problem that requires a neuroanatomical answer. Solutions to the problem are provided at the end of each chapter.

An interactive Review Test, including over 450 questions, is provided online. The book is extensively illustrated. The majority of the figures have been kept simple and are in color. As in the previous edition, a concise Color Atlas of the dissected brain is included prior to the text. This small but important group of colored plates enables the reader to quickly relate a particular part of the brain to the whole organ.
R.S. R.S.S.

Starting with the first edition of Clinical Neuroanatomy published in 1980, many people have provided their expertise and should be recognized for their contributions. First and foremost, thanks to Richard S. Snell whose shoulders we stand upon to advance our own intellectual progress. Throughout this text and in previous editions, the following individuals provided valuable contributions and are gratefully acknowledged: N. Cauna, L. Clerk, D. 0. Davis, H. Dey, M. Feldman, T. M. J. Fitzgerald, l. Grunther, J. M. Kerns, T. McCarthy, A. Peters, G. Sze, and L. Wener.

EIGHTH EDITION I am greatly indebted to the staff of Wolters Kluwer, including Crystal Taylor, who brought me in and provided me with this wonderful opportunity, as well as AndreaVosburgh, development editor, and John Larkin, editorial coordinator. Thanks also to freelance development editor Kelly Horvath, who provided invaluable direction and patience with me throughout the entire process. SPi Global is gratefully acknowledged for their brilliant art recoloring and enhancing the personality of this textbook. My special thanks to Stephanie Vas, Program Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who produced exceptional MR images for this edition. I would like to extend my gratitude to my students, colleagues, and mentors for their encouragement and wisdom—especially, Sabra Peetz, Art Dalley, Cathy Pettepher, Lillian Nanney, and Kyle Meyer.
R.S.