Plum and Posner's Diagnosis of Stupor

The book begins with a description of the physiology of consciousness and the pathophysiology of disorders of consciousness. It continues with a description of the approach to a patient with a disorder of consciousness, emphasizing the bedside examination, but including the use of modern imaging techniques. The important structural and metabolic causes of coma are reviewed in detail. It then describes the emergency treatment, both medical and surgical, of patients with specific disorders of consciousness and their prognosis. New chapters describe the approach to the diagnosis of brain death and the clinical physiology of the vegetative state and minimally conscious state, as well as the ethics of dealing with such patients and their families.