"This textbook is the product of the combined efforts of a neuroanatomist and a medical illustrator to present the basic elements of the structure and function of the human nervous system... Among the features of this book which the authors regard as particularly valuable are the following: 1) Descriptions of the brain emphasize those structural relationships leading to a three-dimensional visualization of the brain. 2) Fundamentals of neurophysiology, neural processing, and feedback circuits are outlined. 3) Significant tracts and pathways are illustrated in variations of the same basic drawing, permitting the reader to orient himself more rapidly. 4) The neuroanatomy of the lower brainstem (medulla, pons, and midbrain) is described and analyzed as a unit in one chapter. 5) The ascending 'sensory' pathways are reviewed in conjunction with the discussion of the thalamus; the descending 'motor' pathways are reviewed with the presentation of the basal ganglia." (from Preface to the First Edition).