Anyone that has been diagnosed with transverse myelitis has probably dealt with a number of medical specialists. Below is a brief description of each specialist's orientation and sphere of expertise. Please note, this summary is intended to be full of generalizations. Any individual physician can take it upon her or himself to acquire a greater knowledge base and expertise. These "definitions" are my own, and I apologize in advance if I offend any of my professional colleagues. I, myself, am a physiatrist (see below).

Family practitioners are physicians who are trained to treat virtually anyone who might walk in the door of a doctor's office. Their training includes rotations in pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and internal medicine. The strength of this training is an ability to formulate a treatment plan for patients with a multitude of complaints. Often, family practitioners act as a kind of triage. Patients with routine complaints are treated and followed, but for patients with relatively uncommon diseases such as TM, a referral to a neurologist is often in order.

Internists are specialists in internal medicine. The scope of an internist's practice typically includes diseases of the heart, lung, liver, kidney, blood, digestive system, joints, and endocrine systems. Internists are trained to treat adults, and many will seek subspecialty training in a particular organ system. Like family practitioners, internists tend not to have advanced training in the neuromuscular system, and would typically refer a patient with TM to a neurologist.

Neurologists are specialists in the neurologic system. They study and treat diseases of the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (the nerves from the spinal cord to the muscles and the sensory nerves). Neurologists also treat some diseases of the muscle. The neurologist will often be the one called on to make the diagnosis of TM and determine if a cause can be found. If a specific cause can be found (i.e., a bacterial infection), then efforts are focused on fighting the root cause, if possible (i.e., antibiotics).

Someone who is a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation is called a physiatrist. While other medical specialists aim at preserving and maintaining life, physiatrists are trained to preserve quality of life. When a neurologist examines the patient, he or she is trying to determine the cause of the disease with the hopes of prescribing a medical or surgical treatment. When a physiatrist examines the patient, he or she is trying to determine what the patient's ambitions, abilities, and limitations are. The physiatrist then tries to map a strategy to improve the patient's ability to function. Both neurologists and physiatrists typically prescribe medicines to alleviate symptoms, such as pain or spasticity; neurologists are trained to be experts regarding diagnosis and providing specific treatment. Physiatrists typically concern themselves with treating the problems brought on by loss of function, regardless of the diagnosis. They are expert at determining what kind of devices can make life and work easier (which brace, crutch, walker, reacher, wheelchair, etc. is needed). Physiatrists often consult and coordinate care delivered by physical, occupational and speech therapists, orthotists and prosthetists, psychologists, social workers and others. Physiatry is one of the smallest medical specialties with less than 6000 practitioners nationwide. Perhaps for this reason, physiatrists are a resource that is often overlooked in the treatment of people with debilitating diseases.