Babinski sign

Babinski sign
An important neurologic examination based upon what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stimulated. If the big toe goes up, that may mean trouble. The Babinski sign is obtained by stimulating the external portion (the outside) of the sole. The examiner begins the stimulation back at the heel and goes forward to the base of the toes. There are diverse ways to elicit the Babinski response. A useful way that requires no special equipment is with firm pressure from the examiner's thumb. Just stroke the sole firmly with the thumb from back to front along the outside edge. Too vigorous stimulation may cause withdrawal of the foot or toe, which can be mistaken as a Babinski sign. The Babinski sign is manifest by the upturning of the big toe and also by fanning of the other toes. Most newborn babies are not neurologically mature so they normally show a Babinski sign. Upon stimulation of the sole, they extend the great toe . Many young infants do this, too, and it is perfectly normal. However, in time during infancy the Babinski response vanishes and, under normal circumstances, should never return. A Babinski sign in an older child or adult is abnormal. It is a sign of a problem in the central nervous system (CNS), most likely in a part of the CNS called the pyramidal tract. Asymmetry of the Babinski sign — when it is present on one side but not the other — is abnormal. It is a sign not merely of trouble but helps to lateralize that trouble (tell which side of the CNS is involved). The Babinski sign is known by a number of other names: the plantar response (because the sole is the plantar surface of the foot), the toe or big toe sign or phenomenon, and the Babinski reflex, response or phenomenon. It is common but wrong to say that the Babinski sign is positive or negative; it is present or absent. Babinski, despite the Slavic sound of the name, was French: Joseph Francois Felix Babinski (1857-1932). His name will never be forgotten in medicine.

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1. loss or lessening of the Achilles tendon reflex in sciatica: this distinguishes it from hysterical sciatica. 2. a misnomer for Babinski reflex. 3. in hemiplegia, the contraction of the platysma muscle in the healthy side is more vigorous than on the affected side, as seen in opening the mouth, whistling, blowing, etc. 4. when a hemiplegic patient is lying with arms crossed upon the chest, and makes an effort to sit up, the thigh on the paralyzed side is flexed upon the pelvis and the heel is lifted from the ground, while on the healthy side the limb does not move. 4. when the paralyzed forearm is placed in supination, it turns over to pronation: seen in organic paralysis. Called also pronation s.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Babinski sign — noun extension upward of the toes when the sole of the foot is stroked firmly on the outer side from the heel to the front; normal in infants under the age of two years but a sign of brain or spinal cord injury in older persons • Syn: ↑Babinski,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Babinski sign — noun see Babinski reflex …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Babinski Sign — curling of toes upward after infancy …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • Babinski-Zeichen — Als Babinski Reflex oder Babinski Zeichen bezeichnet man einen pathologischen Reflex, der bei einer Schädigung der Pyramidenbahn auftritt (Pyramidenbahnzeichen). Der Reflex ist nach dem polnisch französischen Neurologen Joseph Babinski benannt,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Babinski-Reflex — Babinski Zeichen Als Babinski Reflex oder Babinski Zeichen bezeichnet man einen pathologischen Reflex, der bei einer Schädigung der Pyramidenbahn auftritt (Pyramidenbahnzeichen). Der Reflex ist nach dem polnisch französischen Neurologen Joseph… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pseudo–Babinski sign — in poliomyelitis, the Babinski reflex is modified so that only the big toe is extended, because all the foot muscles except the dorsiflexors of the big toe are paralyzed …   Medical dictionary

  • Babinski reflex — An important neurologic test based, believe it or not, upon what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stimulated. If the big toe goes up, that may mean trouble. The Babinski reflex is obtained by stimulating the external portion (the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Sign, Babinski — A neurologic reflex that constitutes an important medical examination based upon what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stroked. If the big toe goes up, that may well mean trouble. The Babinski sign is obtained by stimulating the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Sign, toe — An important neurologic test based upon what the toes do when the sole of the foot is stimulated. If the big toe goes up, that may mean trouble. The toe sign, also called the Babinski reflex, is obtained by stimulating the external portion (the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Babinski phenomenon — A neurologic reflex that constitutes an important medical examination based upon what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stroked. If the big toe goes up, that may mean trouble. The Babinski reflex is obtained by stimulating the… …   Medical dictionary

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