athetosis

athetosis
—athetosic, athetotic /ath'i tot"ik/, adj.
/ath'i toh"sis/, n. Pathol.
a condition, chiefly in children, of slow, involuntary, wormlike movements of the fingers, toes, hands, and feet, usually resulting from a brain lesion.
[1870-75; < Gk áthet(os) not placed (a- A-6 + thetós, equiv. to the- (s. of tithénai to set, put) + -tos verbid suffix) + -OSIS]

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      slow, purposeless, and involuntary movements of the hands, feet, face, tongue, and neck (as well as other muscle groups). The fingers are separately flexed and extended in an entirely irregular way. The hands as a whole are also moved, and the arms, toes, and feet may be affected. The condition is usually caused by malfunctioning of the basal ganglia of the cerebrum. The movements may or may not continue during sleep. They cannot be arrested for more than a moment by willpower and are aggravated by voluntary movements. See also cerebral palsy.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Athetosis — Ath e*to sis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? not fixed; a priv. + ? to set.] (Med.) A variety of chorea, marked by peculiar tremors of the fingers and toes. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • athetosis — 1871, from Gk. athetos not fixed, without position or place, set aside + OSIS (Cf. osis). Coined by U.S. nerve specialist William Alexander Hammond (1828 1900) …   Etymology dictionary

  • athetosis — [ath΄ə tō′sis] n. pl. athetoses [ath′ə tō′sēz] a muscular disorder characterized by continuous, slow, twisting motions of the hands, feet, etc., as in cerebral palsy athetoid [ath΄ətoid΄] adj. athetotic [ath΄ətät′ik] …   English World dictionary

  • Athetosis — Infobox Disease Name = PAGENAME Caption = DiseasesDB = 16662 ICD10 = ICD10|R|25|8|r|25 ICD9 = ICD9|781.0 ICDO = OMIM = MedlinePlus = eMedicineSubj = eMedicineTopic = MeshID = D001264 Athetosis is a continuous stream of slow, sinuous, writhing… …   Wikipedia

  • athetosis — noun A series of involuntary writhing movements of the limbs …   Wiktionary

  • Athetosis — Involuntary writhing movements particularly of the arms and hands. * * * A condition in which there is a constant succession of slow, writhing, involuntary movements of flexion, extension, pronation, and supination of the fingers and hands, and… …   Medical dictionary

  • athetosis — n. disease which causes unintentional movement of the fingers and limbs …   English contemporary dictionary

  • athetosis — [ˌaθɪ təʊsɪs] noun Medicine a condition in which abnormal muscle contraction causes involuntary writhing movements. Derivatives athetoid adjective athetotic adjective Origin C19: from Gk athetos without position + osis …   English new terms dictionary

  • athetosis — ath·e·to·sis …   English syllables

  • athetosis — n. a writhing involuntary movement especially affecting the hands, face, and tongue. It is usually a form of cerebral palsy. It impairs the child s ability to speak or use his hands; intelligence is often unaffected. Such movements may also be… …   The new mediacal dictionary

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