Neurologist Day Date in the current year: December 1, 2024

Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all conditions and diseases involving the nervous system. In the Soviet Union, neurology used to be referred to as neuropathology, but this changed in the 1980s. Nevertheless, neurologists still are sometimes colloquially called neuropathologists in the post-Soviet states.

The development of neurology as an academic discipline began in the 15th century. Among many neurologists who made a significant contribution to its development were Matthew Baillie, Charles Bell, Duchenne de Boulogne, Jean-Martin Charcot, William A. Hammond, John Hughlings Jackson, Moritz Heinrich Romberg, Robert Whytt, and Thomas Willis.

Some of the most common neurological conditions and disorders that neurologists have to deal with include headaches, stroke, epilepsy, dementia, neuromuscular diseases, neuropathy, radiculopathy, sleep disorders, head trauma, multiple sclerosis, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, as well as various tumors and infections of the nervous system. To treat many of these conditions, neurologists have to cooperate with other physicians, such as neurosurgeons, rehabilitation therapists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, otolaryngologists, ophthalmologists, etc.

The reason for this is that the nervous system is connected to every single system and organ in our body; it’s essentially the body’s electrical wiring. Consequently, the symptoms of neurological disorders can look like other medical conditions. That is why timely diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders is so important; if their symptoms are confused with some other disorder and treated by a wrong specialist, the patient’s condition will only worsen.

Despite the importance of neurologists’ work, these physicians still don’t have an official professional holiday. However, in some countries, there is an unofficial observance called Neurologist Day. It is celebrated on December 1.