Central and peripheral nerves are the physician’s division of the nervous system, generally classifying the brain and spinal cord to the central nervous system and nerves emanating from outside of the two sites to the peripheral nerves. The classification of central versus peripheral nerves facilitates labeling the location of the lesion, so that if the patient has a central nervous system infection, the location of the disease is known to be in the brain or spinal cord; if the patient is diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, the lesion is in the peripheral nerves. This classification is only an artificial division; both are part of the nervous system.