LAB 12 REFLEX IN MAN

• Patellar Reflex or Knee-jerk


  Let the subject sit on a table with his legs hanging freely. Tap the patellar tendon with a reflex hammer.
• Ankle Jerk


  Let the subject kneel on a chair with the feet hanging freely over the edge of the chair. Bend his foot so as to increase the tension of the gastrocnemius muscle. Tap the tendon of Achilles.
• Biceps Reflex


  The operator grasps the arms of the subject at the elbow joint, with his thumb with a reflex hammer.
• Triceps reflex


  Flex the subject's arm at the elbow with the joint pointing upward. Tap the triceps tendon just above the olecranon process of the ulna.
• Wrist Reflex

  Tap the tendon of the flexor of the wrist about one inch above the joint.
• Corneal of Conjunctival reflex


  Touch the cornea with a wisp of cotton and note the response.
• Palatal Reflex


  Touch the palate with a tongue depressor and note the response
• Pharyngeal Reflex


  Touch the walls of the pharynx with a tongue depressor and note the response.
• Pupillary - Skin Reflex


  Pinch the cheeks and note the effect on the pupils.
• Palmar reflex


  Irritate the palm of the subject using any rough object and note the effect.
• Epigastric reflex


  Stroke the region from the nipple down and note the effect on the epigastrium.
• Abdominal reflex


  Stroke the skin at the outer border of the rectus abdominis muscle with a blunt instrument. Note the effect.
• Plantar reflex


  Gently stroke the skin of the sole of the foot and note the effect.
• Photo-papillary reflex


  Let the subject close his eyes for two minutes while facing a bright light. Examine the eyes immediately upon opening.
• Accommodation reflex


  Let the subject look at a distant object and examine the pupils. Then let him look at an object placed ten inches from the eyes and note the size of the pupils.
• Cilio-spinal reflex


  Pinch the skin at the nape and note the effect on the pupils.
• Convergence


  Ask the subject to look at an object placed at distance and note the position of the eyeballs. Then gradually bring the object nearer and note what happened to the eyeballs.
• Swallowing Reflex


  Swallow the saliva in your mouth and immediately swallow again. Can you? Then drink a glass of water and find out if you can swallow in succession.
• Classification of reflexes


  • Segmental
  • Inter-segmental
  • Supra-segmental
• Categories of reflexes


  • Superficial
  • Deep-stretch
  • Visceral
  • Pathological
• Reflexes are important not only in the sense that they serve to act as protective mechanisms of the body against noxious stimuli but that the nature of many regulatory functions of the body is reflex