Free online textbook on neurology
In Africa neurological disorders are a common cause of disability and death. The textbook “Neurology in Africa” is specifically written for Sub-Saharan Africa by Dr. William Howlett, physician and neurologist in Tanzania.
Main content
Medical literature for an African setting
– Standard textbooks of internal medicine and neurology are of course helpful, but they do not cover all the needs for medical knowledge in Africa. For instance clinical practice in an African everyday setting is not covered in Western medical literature. Nor are certain neurological diseases that are particularly widespread in Africa, says Dr. Howlett.
Howlett is Irish, but has spent much of his professional life as a physician and educator for patients and medical students at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania. He soon discovered that the only available textbooks were written for medical students in rich Western countries.
Emphasis on clinical skills
The book emphasizes clinical skills and is well illustrated with diagrams and pictures. There are many tables and summary key points throughout the text designed to assist with review.
“Neurology in Africa” is divided into two sections: Section one deals with neurological examination and localization, with medical students as its main target group. Section two deals with neurological diseases, with students and doctors practicing in Africa as target groups.
Free download
This textbook of neurology is now published by the University of Bergen (UiB) and is available as a free download at this website ("Neurology in Africa"). It is also available in the open research archive BORA.
The book has also been printed, and the hard copies will be distributed throughout Africa to the medical institutions.
