Metacarpophalangeal joint reflex
The metacarpophalangeal joint reflex is an external reflex that is used for neurological examinations. The patient's metacarpal is grasped from the side of the elbow , pressed firmly and the metacarpophalangeal joints of the 3rd to 5th fingers are bent. This leads to a reflex movement ( adduction ) of the thumb . The reflex was first described by the Innsbruck neurologist Carl Mayer .
A failure of the reflex indicates damage to the hand nerves or damage to the pyramidal tract .
literature
- Armin Lange: anamnesis and clinical examination . Springer, 5th edition 1998, ISBN 9783540635987 , p. 418.
- Carl Mayer: To the knowledge of the joint reflexes of the upper limbs . Wagner'sche kk Universitäts-Buchdruckerei, Innsbruck 1918 ( online ).
- Carl Mayer: On the conception of the Lérian phenomenon and the basic joint reflex . In: Journal for the whole of neurology and psychiatry . tape 76 , no. 1 , 1922, pp. 590-599 , doi : 10.1007 / BF02876751 .