parachute reflex

star·tle re·flex

a primitive reflex response observed in the normal newborn but typically suppressed by 3-4 months of age. Any sudden stimulus (for example, a loud noise, a blow to the supporting surface, or being dropped 5-10 cm through space) causes flexion of the hip and knee joints with fanning of the fingers followed by fist clenching and extension of the upper limbs followed by flexion. Synonym(s): Moro reflex, parachute reflex, startle reaction
See also: cochleopalpebral reflex.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

parachute reflex

(păr′ə-sho͞ot′)

n.

See startle reflex.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Protective abduction of arms, extension of elbows and wrists and spreading of fingers, a normal defence reflex, elicited when an infant is held in ventral suspension and is tilted abruptly forward toward the floor, seen in the 8th–12th month of age, a response that is asymmetrical in infants with hemiparesis and is an early sign of cerebral palsy

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

star·tle re·flex

(stahr'tĕl rē'fleks)

1. The reflex response of an infant (contraction of the limb and neck muscles) when allowed to drop a short distance through the air or startled by a sudden noise or jolt.
Synonym(s): parachute reflex.

2. Synonym(s): cochleopalpebral reflex.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012