Category: S

A drug that reduces the tension of smooth muscles such as those in the intestinal tract or bronchi.  

Refraction of the eye when accommodation is at rest or paralyzed.  

In an infant, flexion or extension of the arms in response to flexion and extension, respectively, of the neck.  

Involuntary muscular activity in the oropharynx and nasopharynx when foods, tongue depressors, or other objects stimulate the back of the throat. In humans swallowing is mediated by the deglutition center of the medulla oblongata (i.e., by cranial nerves VII, IX, X, and XI).  

Deflection of the linea alba toward the stroked side when the abdomen is stroked above Poupart’s ligament.  

A cutaneous reflex caused by irritation of the skin or of areas that depend on the spinal cord as a motor center (e.g., the scapular, epigastric, abdominal, cremasteric, gluteal, and plantar reflexes) or on centers in the medulla (e.g., the conjunctival, pupillary, and palatal reflexes). This reflex is induced by a very light stimulus, such…

A sucking movement of an infant’s mouth produced by stroking the lips. A primitive form of this reflex is present in the fetus by the 16th week of gestation; it is fully developed by the time of birth. In adults, the presence of a sucking reflex is an indicator of severe dementia, frontal lobe disease,…

Movements of progression elicited by holding an infant upright, inclined forward, and touching the soles of the feet to a flat surface. This reflex lasts from birth to age 6 weeks.  

A reflex that occurs when the body is moving (e.g., walking or running).  

A reflex whose center is in the spinal cord.