Neurosurgery

The specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders of the brain, spinal cord, or other parts of the nervous system. Conditions treated by neurosurgery include tumours of the brain, spinal cord, or meninges (membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord); brain abscess; abnormalities of the blood vessels supplying the brain, such as an aneurysm (balloon-like swelling at a weak point in an artery); bleeding inside the skull (see extradural haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, and subdural haemorrhage); some birth defects (such as neural tube defects and hydrocephalus); certain types of epilepsy; and nerve damage caused by illness or accidents. Neurosurgery may also be performed to relieve pain that is otherwise untreatable.