Modern Tests of Vestibular Function, with Special Reference to their Value in Clinical Practice

The many vestibular tests now available provide the means of accurate localization of lesions at all levels of the vestibular pathways. The value of the test procedures described has been well established in the examination of very many patients over the past twenty years, and though other forms of tests are available only those have been included which have proved to give consistently useful information.Most of these tests can be undertaken by the clinician without the use of any costly equipment, and together with a careful history and examination the diagnosis can in most cases be arrived at. Recognition of the highly important role of optic fixation and ocular deviations on vestibular nystagmus, together with recent facilities to demonstrate this electronystagmographically, may provide additional valuable and more precise information.