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1. Loss of power of voluntary movement in a muscle through injury or disease of it or its nerve supply. 2. Loss of any function, as sensation, secretion, or mental ability. [G. fr. para- + lysis, a loosening]

- acute ascending p. a p. of rapid course beginning in the legs and involving progressively the trunk, arms, and neck, ending sometimes in death in 1–3 weeks; generally due to either a fulminant Guillain-Barré syndrome or an ascending necrotizing myelopathy. SYN: ascending p..

- p. agitans obsolete term for parkinsonism (1).

- ascending p. SYN: acute ascending p..

- Brown-Séquard p. SYN: Brown-Séquard syndrome.

- bulbar p. SYN: progressive bulbar p..

- central p. p. due to a lesion in the brain or spinal cord.

- compression p. p. due to external presure on a nerve.

- crossed p. SYN: alternating hemiplegia.

- crutch p. a form of pressure p. affecting the arm and caused by compression of the infraclavicular brachial plexus or radial nerve by the crosspiece of a crutch. SYN: crutch palsy.

- diphtheritic p. SYN: postdiphtheritic p..

- diver's p. lay term for decompression sickness.

- Duchenne-Erb p. SYN: Erb palsy.

- Erb p. SYN: Erb palsy.

- facial p. paresis or p. of the facial muscles, usually unilateral, due to either 1) a lesion involving either the nucleus or the facial nerve peripheral to the nucleus (peripheral facial p.) or 2) a supranuclear lesion in the cerebrum or upper brainstem (central facial p.); with the latter, facial weakness is usually partial and the upper portion of the face is relatively spared, because of bilateral cortical connections. SYN: facial palsy, facioplegia, fallopian neuritis.

- familial periodic p. one of the inherited muscle disorders manifested as recurrent episodes of marked generalized weakness. See hyperkalemic periodic p., hypokalemic periodic p., normokalemic periodic p..

- faucial p. SYN: isthmoparalysis.

- flaccid p. p. with a loss of muscle tone. Cf.:spastic diplegia.

- generalized p. SYN: global p..

- ginger p. SYN: jake p..

- global p. p. of both whole sides of the body. SYN: generalized p..

- glossolabiolaryngeal p., glossolabiopharyngeal p. SYN: progressive bulbar p..

- glossopalatolabial p. SYN: progressive bulbar palsy.

- glossopharyngeolabial p. SYN: progressive bulbar palsy.

- Gubler p. SYN: Gubler syndrome.

- hyperkalemic periodic p. [type II MIM*170500] a form of periodic p. in which the serum potassium level is elevated during attacks; onset occurs in infancy, attacks are frequent but relatively mild, and myotonia is often present; autosomal dominant inheritance caused by mutation in the sodium channel gene (SCN4A) on chromosome 17q.

- hypokalemic periodic p. [type I MIM*170400] a form of periodic p. in which the serum potassium level is low during attacks; onset usually occurs between the ages of 7–21 years; attacks may be precipitated by exposure to cold, high carbohydrate meal, or alcohol, may last hours to days, and may cause respiratory p.; autosomal dominant caused by mutation in the muscle dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive calcium channel α-1-subunit (CACNL1A3) on chromosome 1q, or X-linked inheritance.

- hysterical p. a psychosomatic numbness of a limb sometimes to the point of p.. See hysteria.

- immune p. the induction of tolerance due to injection of large amounts of antigen. The antigen is poorly metabolized and the p. remains only during the persistence of the above. See immunologic tolerance. SYN: immunologic p..

- immunologic p. SYN: immune p..

- jake p. polyneuropathy produced by drinking synthetic Jamaican ginger (or “jake” in the vernacular) containing triorthocresylphosphate. SYN: ginger p..

- Klumpke p. SYN: Klumpke palsy.

- Landry p. SYN: Guillain-Barré syndrome.

- lead p. SYN: lead palsy.

- mimetic p. p. of the facial muscles.

- mixed p. combined motor and sensory p..

- motor p. loss of the power of muscular contraction.

- musculospiral p. p. of the muscles of the forearm due to injury of the radial (musculospiral) nerve.

- normokalemic periodic p. [type III MIM 170600] a form of periodic p. in which the serum potassium level is within normal limits during attacks; onset usually occurs between the ages of 2–5 years; there is often severe quadriplegia, usually improved by the administration of sodium salts; autosomal dominant inheritance. SYN: sodium-responsive periodic p..

- obstetric p. SYN: obstetric palsy.

- ocular p. p. of extraocular and intraocular muscles.

- periodic p. term for a group of diseases characterized by recurring episodes of muscular weakness or flaccid p. without loss of consciousness, speech, or sensation; attacks begin when the patient is at rest, and there is apparent good health between attacks. See hyperkalemic periodic p., hypokalemic periodic p., normokalemic periodic p..

- peripheral facial p. SYN: Bell palsy.

- postdiphtheritic p. p. affecting the uvula most frequently, but also any other muscle, due to toxic neuritis; usually appears in the second or third week following the beginning of the attack of diphtheria. SYN: diphtheritic p..

- posticus p. p. of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles.

- Pott p. SYN: Pott paraplegia.

- pressure p. p. due to compression of a nerve, nerve trunk, plexus, or spinal cord. SYN: pressure palsy.

- progressive bulbar p. progressive weakness and atrophy of the muscles of the tongue, lips, palate, pharynx, and larynx, usually occurring in later life; most often caused by motor neuron disease. SYN: bulbar palsy, bulbar p., Erb disease, glossolabiolaryngeal p., glossolabiopharyngeal p..

- pseudobulbar p. p. of the lips and tongue, simulating progressive bulbar p., but due to supranuclear lesions with bilateral involvement of the upper motor neurons; characterized by speech and swallowing difficulties, emotional instability, and spasmodic, mirthless laughter.

- sensory p. loss of sensation; anesthesia.

- sleep p. brief episodic loss of voluntary movement that occurs when falling asleep (hypnagogic sleep p.) or when awakening (hypnopompic sleep p.). One of the narcoleptic tetrad. SYN: sleep dissociation.

- sodium-responsive periodic p. SYN: normokalemic periodic p..

- spastic spinal p. SYN: spastic diplegia.

- spinal p. loss of motor power due to a lesion of the spinal cord. SYN: myeloparalysis, myeloplegia, rachioplegia.

- supranuclear p. p. due to lesions above the primary motor neurons.

- tick p. an ascending flaccid p. caused by the continuing presence of gravid Dermacentor and Ixodes ticks; reported from North America and Australia; affects humans (mainly children) and other animals.

- Todd p. p. of temporary duration (normally not more than a few days) that occurs in the limb or limbs involved in jacksonian epilepsy after the seizure. SYN: Todd postepileptic p..

- Todd postepileptic p. SYN: Todd p..

- vasomotor p. SYN: vasoparesis.

- Zenker p. paresthesia and p. in the area of the external popliteal nerve.

pa·ral·y·sis pə-'ral-ə-səs n, pl -y·ses -.sēz complete or partial loss of function esp. when involving the power of motion or of sensation in any part of the body see HEMIPLEGIA, PARAPLEGIA, PARESIS (1)

muscle weakness that varies in its extent, its severity, and the degree of spasticity or flaccidity according to the nature of the underlying disease and its distribution in the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, or muscles. See also diplegia, hemiplegia, paraplegia, poliomyelitis.

• paralytic adj.