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Section I contains a single chapter that discusses the neuro-ophthalmic history, outlines the components of the neuro-ophthalmic examination, and introduces the important high-tech tools that have become a standard part of the examination.
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The goal of the discussion on taking a history is to convince the reader of a truth that most of us learn the hard way: The few extra minutes it takes to complete a thorough history and examination on the first encounter often spares both the patient and physician hours of frustration. The ophthalmologist will need to venture beyond asking questions specifically about the eye, as the signs and symptoms that confirm the diagnosis are frequently outside the bounds of vision alone. The neurologist will need to be familiar with questions regarding the eye and visual disturbances.
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The discourse on the neuro-ophthalmic examination in this section is brief, only because the bulk of the discussion on examination technique is in later chapters (comprising a sizable percentage of this book), where they are discussed in the context of related anatomy and disease. However, a logical order and flow of the examination is presented here, with reference to the more detailed material elsewhere in the book.
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High-tech tools have become commonplace and are an indispensible part of the neuro-ophthalmic examination. Clinical testing devices and neuroimaging are discussed in Chapter 1 because they are truly an extension of the examination, and because many of the clinical examples in the chapters that follow assume a basic understanding of these imaging techniques.