Erb's palsy

palsy /pal·sy/ (pawl´ze) paralysis.

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Bell's palsy  unilateral facial paralysis of sudden onset due to a lesion of the facial nerve, resulting in characteristic facial distortion.

cerebral palsy  any of a group of persisting qualitative motor disorders appearing in young children, resulting from brain damage caused by birth trauma or intrauterine pathology.

Erb's palsy , Erb-Duchenne palsy Erb-Duchenne paralysis.

facial palsy  Bell's p.

progressive bulbar palsy  chronic, progressive, generally fatal paralysis and atrophy of the muscles of the lips, tongue, mouth, pharynx, and larynx due to lesions of the motor nuclei of the lower brain stem, usually occurring in late adult years.

wasting palsy  spinal muscular atrophy.

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Erb's palsy

n.

Birth palsy in which there is paralysis of the muscles of the upper arm due to a lesion of the brachial plexus or the roots of the fifth and sixth cervical nerves. Also called Duchenne-Erb paralysis.

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Erb's palsy

Etymology: Wilhelm H. Erb, German neurologist, 1840-1921

a kind of paralysis caused by traumatic injury to the upper brachial plexus. It occurs most commonly as a result of forcible traction during childbirth, with injury to one or more cervical nerve roots. The signs of Erb's palsy include loss of sensation in the arm and paralysis and atrophy of the deltoid, the biceps, and the brachialis muscles. The arm on the affected side hangs loosely with the elbow extended and the forearm pronated. Treatment initially requires that the arm and shoulder be immobilized to allow the swelling and inflammation of the associated neuritis to resolve. Physical therapy and splinting may be necessary to improve muscle function and to prevent flexion contracture of the elbow. Also called Erb-Duchenne paralysis.

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Erb's palsy

Erb-Duchenne paralysis Neonatology Paralysis of multiple upper arm and shoulder muscles–eg, biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis, deltoid, due to an abnormal position during a vaginal delivery, resulting in C5 and C6 injury in cervical plexus