- Westphal's sign
Westphal's sign is the clinical
correlate of the absence or decrease of patellar reflex or knee jerk.Patellar reflex or knee jerk is a kind of deep orstretch reflex where an application of a stimulus to thepatellar tendon such as strike by a solid object or hammer caused the leg to extend due to such stimulus causes thequadriceps femoris muscle to contract.Associated conditions
Westphal's sign has a clinical significance used in determining neurodisorders or diseases such as:
* receptor damage, peripheral nerve disease, involving the
dorsal(sensory) columns of the spinal cord and cerebellar lesions
* lesions present within the motor cortex of the brain or the pyramidal tracts which it combined with muscular spasms
* complete interruption of sensory and/or motor impulse transmission in thefemoral nerve However, Westphal's sign is often known as a characteristic finding in
tabes dorsalis , a type of neuro-syphilis .ee also
*
Tabes dorsalis
*Patellar reflex References
* "The Principles of Physiology" Jensen, David Ph.D.,Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.1976
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