decorticate posture

decorticate posture

[dēkôr′tikāt]

Etymology: L, de + cortex, bark, ponere, to place

the position of a comatose patient in which the upper extremities are rigidly flexed at the elbows and at the wrists. The legs also may be flexed. The decorticate posture indicates a lesion in a mesencephalic region of the brain. In some instances the posture may be produced by applying a painful stimulus to a comatose patient. Also called decorticate rigidity.

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decorticate posture

Neurology A posture caused by diffuse and severe cortical dysfunction, seen in a deep coma, where primitive reflex posturing prevails after the loss of higher cortical control; DP is characterized by fisted hands, arms flexed on the chest, extended legs, often in response to painful stimuli, which indicates midbrain dysfunction. Cf Decerebrate posture.