| scissor gait | One leg swings across the other instead of straight forward, producing a criss-cross motion of the legs in walking, with the foot imprints reversed; bilateral hemiplegic gait. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| high steppage gait | A gait in which the foot is raised high to avoid catching a drooping foot and brought down suddenly in a flapping manner; often seen in peroneal nerve palsy and tabes. Synonym: equine gait. (05 Mar 2000) |
| hysterical gait | A variety of bizarre gaits seen with hysteria-conversion reaction; usually the foot is dragged or pushed ahead, instead of lifted, while walking; frequently the foot is held dorsiflexed and inverted. (05 Mar 2000) |
| steppage gait | A gait in which the advancing foot is lifted higher than usual so that it can clear the ground, because it cannot be dorsiflexed. Seen with peroneal neuropathies and other disorders causing foot dorsiflexion weakness. See: high steppage gait. Synonym: steppage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| toppling gait | <neurology> A gait in which the steps are uncertain and hesitant, and the patient totters and sometimes falls; probably due to a balance disorder; may be seen in elderly patients after a stroke. (06 Mar 2000) |
| equine gait | A gait in which the foot is raised high to avoid catching a drooping foot and brought down suddenly in a flapping manner; often seen in peroneal nerve palsy and tabes. Synonym: equine gait. (05 Mar 2000) |
| festinating gait | Gait in which the trunk is flexed, legs are flexed at the knees and hips, but stiff, while the steps are short and progressively more rapid; characteristically seen with parkinsonism and other neurologic diseases. Synonym: festination. (05 Mar 2000) |
| paraparesis, tropical spastic | Subacute paralytic myeloneuropathy occurring endemically in tropical areas such as the caribbean, colombia, india, and africa, as well as in the southwestern region of japan; associated with infection by type I human lymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV-I). Toxic nutritional factors have largely been ruled out as the cause of this syndrome, the primary clinical feature of which is progressive weakness of the legs and lower body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| colitis, spastic | See Colitis, mucus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| congenital spastic paraplegia | A spastic paralysis of the lower extremities occurring in the infant. Synonym: infantile spastic paraplegia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pseuodoparalysis, spastic | Better known as creutzfeldt-jakob disease. A dementing disease of the brain. It is believed due to an unconventional (not a bacteria or virus), transmissible agent called a prion. Symptoms of cjd include forgetfulness, nervousness, jerky trembling hand movements, unsteady gait, muscle spasms, chronic dementia, balance disorder, and loss of facial expression. Cjd is classified as a spongiform encephalopathy. most cases occur randomly (sporadically), but inherited forms exist. There is neither treatment nor cure for cjd. Other names for cjd include creutzfeldt-jakob syndrome and jakob-creutzfeldt disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| spastic | 1. Of the nature of or characterised by spasms. 2. Hypertonic, so that the muscles are stiff and the movements awkward. 3. A person exhibiting spasticity, such as occurs in spastic paralysis or in cerebral palsy. Origin: Gr. Spastikos (13 Nov 1997) |
| spastic abasia | Abasia due to a spastic contraction of the muscles when an attempt is made to walk. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spastic anaemia | Local anaemia resulting from nontransitory contraction of the arterial vessels in the affected region. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spastic colitis | See Syndrome, irritable bowel. (12 Dec 1998) |