Epilogue

When we completed our training in clinical neurophysiology, many textbooks still referred to nerve conduction studies and electromyography (EMG) as relatively novel diagnostic tests. Indeed, despite the important foundations laid by giants in the history of medicine such as Duchenne in the nineteenth century, EMG only came into widespread clinical use in the latter half of the twentieth century, in part due to the advances in computer technology that occurred during that time. Pediatric EMG remained a small niche for much of that period. However, an increasing number of child neurologists have embarked upon fellowship training in this field, and it is now expected that all major pediatric hospitals will have access to this diagnostic test. EMG will remain an important tool in modern medicine for the foreseeable future. For many children, neurophysiological testing provides a rapid means of confirming if weakness or gait difficulty is indeed attributable to a disorder affecting motor neurons, peripheral nerves, neuromuscular junction, or muscle.