A mnemonic to remember the warning signs of stroke is FAST (facial droop, arm weakness, speech difficulty, and time to call emergency services), as advocated by the Department of Health (United Kingdom) and the Stroke Association, the American Stroke Association, the National Stroke Association (US), the Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen (LAPSS) and the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS). Use of these scales is recommended by professional guidelines. FAST is less reliable in the recognition of posterior circulation strokes.For people referred to the emergency room, early recognition of stroke is deemed important as this can expedite diagnostic tests and treatments. A scoring system called ROSIER (recognition of stroke in the emergency room) is recommended for this purpose; it is based on features from the medical history and physical examination. Subtypes
If the area of the brain affected includes one of the three prominent central nervous system pathways—the spinothalamic tract, corticospinal tract, and the dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway, symptoms may include:

hemiplegia and muscle weakness of the face
numbness
reduction in sensory or vibratory sensation
initial flaccidity (reduced muscle tone), replaced by spasticity (increased muscle tone), excessive reflexes, and obligatory synergies.In most cases, the symptoms affect only one side of the body (unilateral). Depending on the part of the brain affected,  the defect in the brain is usually on the opposite side of the body. However, since these pathways also travel in the spinal cord and any lesion there can also produce these symptoms, the presence of any one of these symptoms does not necessarily indicate a stroke.
Skull bossing is a descriptive term in medical physical examination indicating a protuberance of the skull, most often in the frontal bones of the forehead ("frontal bossing"). Although prominence of the skull bones may be normal, skull bossing may be associated with certain medical conditions, including nutritional, metabolic, hormonal, and hematologic disorders. Frontal bossing
Frontal bossing is the development of an unusually pronounced forehead which may also be associated with a heavier than normal brow ridge. It is caused by enlargement of the frontal bone, often in conjunction with abnormal enlargement of other facial bones, skull, mandible, and bones of the hands and feet. Frontal bossing may be seen in a few rare medical syndromes such as acromegaly – a chronic medical disorder in which the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone (GH). Frontal bossing may also occur in diseases resulting in chronic anemia, where there is increased hematopoiesis and enlargement of the medullary cavities of the skull. Associated medical disorders
Rickets
Achondroplasia
Acromegaly
Basal cell nevus syndrome
Congenital syphilis
Cleidocranial dysostosis
Crouzon syndrome
Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS – PFS)
Ectodermal dysplasia
Extramedullary hematopoiesis
Fragile X syndrome
Hurler syndrome
Osteopathia Striata with Cranial Sclerosis
Pfeiffer syndrome
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
Russell-Silver syndrome (Russell-Silver dwarf)
Thanatophoric dysplasia
Talfan syndrome
Trimethadione (antiseizure drug) use during pregnancy
Beta-thalassemia (due to expansion of bone marrow secondary to increased hematopoiesis; see Extramedullary hematopoiesis)
Hallermann-Streiff syndrome


== References ==