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Myoclonus is a brief, involuntary, irregular (lacking rhythm) twitching of a muscle, a joint, or a group of muscles, different from clonus, which is rhythmic or regular. Myoclonus ( myo- "muscle", clonus "spasm") describes a medical sign and, generally, is not a diagnosis of a disease .
While this relaxation may be voluntary, the overall process of rumination is still generally involuntary. Relaxation due to intra-abdominal pressure is another proposed explanation, which would make abdominal compression the primary mechanism. The third is an adaptation of the belch reflex, which is the most commonly described mechanism.
Reciprocal inhibition is a neuromuscular process in which muscles on one side of a joint relax to allow the contraction of muscles on the opposite side, enabling smooth and coordinated movement. [1] This concept, introduced by Charles Sherrington , a pioneering neuroscientist , is also referred to as reflexive antagonism in some allied health ...
Guarding is a characteristic finding in the physical examination for an abruptly painful abdomen (an acute abdomen) with inflammation of the inner abdominal (peritoneal) surface due, for example, to appendicitis or diverticulitis. The tensed muscles of the abdominal wall automatically go into spasm to keep the tender underlying tissues from ...
Muscular defense is a reflex of the abdominal muscles to contract upon mechanical force to the abdomen, and serves as protection. It is a visceromotor reflex , since the parietal peritoneum and viscera are involved in generating the reflex.
A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction [1] [2] or overshortening associated with electrical activity; [3] while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the affected muscle.
A common example of reciprocal innervation, is the effect of the nociceptive (or nocifensive) reflex, or defensive response to pain, otherwise commonly known as the withdrawal reflex; a type of involuntary action of the body to remove the body part from the vicinity of an offending object by contracting the appropriate muscles (usually flexor ...
Tonic contractions are those contractions that are maintained from several minutes up to hours at a time. These occur in the sphincters of the tract, as well as in the anterior stomach. The other type of contractions, called phasic contractions, consist of brief periods of both relaxation and contraction, occurring in the posterior stomach and ...