patellar reflex

patellar reflex
patellar reflex n KNEE JERK

* * *

the knee jerk, in which stretching the muscle at the front of the thigh by tapping its tendon below the knee cap causes a reflex contraction of the muscle, so that the leg kicks. This is a test of the connection between the sensory nerves attached to stretch receptors in the muscle, the spinal cord, and the motor neurones running from the cord to the thigh muscle, all of which are involved in the reflex. Disease or damage may result in absence of the reflex.

* * *

contraction of the quadriceps and extension of the lower limb when the patellar ligament is tapped; called also knee jerk, quadriceps jerk, knee jerk r., and quadriceps r.

Eliciting the patellar reflex.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Patellar reflex — Reflex Re flex (r? fl?ks; formerly r?*fl?ks ), n. [L. reflexus a bending back. See {Reflect}.] 1. Reflection; the light reflected from an illuminated surface to one in shade. [1913 Webster] Yon gray is not the morning s eye, Tis but the pale… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • patellar reflex — n. Med. a normal reflex kick with extension of the leg at the knee, produced by sharply tapping the tendon below the patella * * * …   Universalium

  • patellar reflex — n. Med. a normal reflex kick with extension of the leg at the knee, produced by sharply tapping the tendon below the patella …   English World dictionary

  • Patellar reflex — The patellar reflex or knee jerk is a stretch reflex and is a myotatic reflex. MechanismStriking the patellar tendon with a tendon hammer just below the patella stretches the quadriceps tendon. This stimulates stretch sensory receptors (most… …   Wikipedia

  • patellar reflex — noun a reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on the patellar tendon • Syn: ↑knee jerk, ↑knee jerk reflex • Hypernyms: ↑reflex, ↑reflex response, ↑reflex action, ↑instinctive reflex, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • patellar reflex — knee jerk reflex contraction of the quadriceps (thigh) muscle so that the leg kicks, elicited in a patient sitting with one knee crossed over the other by sharply tapping the tendon of the muscle below the kneecap. The reflex is mediated through… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • patellar reflex — noun The reflex which causes a bent knee to kick when the tendon below the patella (kneecap) is tapped. Syn: kneejerk reflex …   Wiktionary

  • patellar reflex. — See knee jerk. [1890 95] * * * …   Universalium

  • patellar reflex. — See knee jerk. [1890 95] …   Useful english dictionary

  • reflex arc — n the complete nervous path that is involved in a reflex * * * the nervous circuit involved in a reflex, being at its simplest a sensory nerve with a receptor, linked at a synapse in the brain or spinal cord with a motor nerve, which supplies a… …   Medical dictionary

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