Neurology is the medical specialty which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the brain and nervous system. A physician who practices neurology is called a neurologist. A surgeon who operates on the brain is called a neurosurgeon, which is a surgical specialty rather than a medical specialty.
Neurologists treat stroke patients, as well as patients with traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, multiple sclerosis, headaches, and hundreds of other neurological issues, some of which are acute, others of which may be ongoing, or chronic.
Neurology is a field that will have an increasing need for practitioners as an aging population will have more incidence of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.