Polyneuropathy—multiple peripheral nerves affected simultaneously—is classified within peripheral neuropathy (alongside mononeuropathy and mononeuritis multiplex) by etiology: immune-mediated, metabolic, hereditary, toxic, and infectious. Immune-mediated polyneuropathies are distinguished by tempo and mechanism: Guillain-Barré syndrome (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) presents as an acute, ascending, demyelinating paralysis with elevated CSF protein and albuminocytologic dissociation, while chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is its slowly progressive counterpart; multifocal motor neuropathy is a purely motor, asymmetric neuropathy with conduction block; and diabetic neuropathy is a chronic, metabolic, distal symmetric (and sometimes proximal or focal) polyneuropathy—together illustrating how tempo, distribution, and CSF/electrophysiologic findings differentiate neuropathologic entities.
Polyneuropathy—multiple peripheral nerves affected simultaneously—is classified within peripheral neuropathy (alongside mononeuropathy and mononeuritis multiplex) by etiology: immune-mediated, metabo…