Neurological Surgery is a discipline of medicine and that specialty of
surgery that provides the operative and nonoperative management (i.e., critical
care, prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation) of
disorders of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including
their supporting structures and vascular supply; the evaluation and treatment
of pathological processes which modify the function or activity of the nervous
system, including the hypophysis; and the operative and nonoperative management
of pain. As such, neurological surgery encompasses treatment of adult and
pediatric patients with disorders of the nervous system: disorders of the
brain, meninges, and skull, and their blood supply, including the extracranial
carotid and vertebral arteries; disorders of the pituitary gland, disorders of
the spinal cord, and vertebral column, including those which may require
treatment by spinal fusion or instrumentation; and disorders of the cranial and
spinal nerves throughout their distribution.