Opistotonos

Opistotonos extensio dorsi retro et cetera.

Apparatus:

Opistonos AC | Opistothonos e | Opistotonichos B | Opisthotonikos f | Opistotonos scripsi

et cetera missing in B f

Translation:

Opistotonos is the backward extension of the back and so forth.

Commentary:

This entry describes what is today known by the Greek term opisthotonos (opisthen, "backwards", tonos "tension"), a reclination of the head and backward arching of body due to spastic contraction of neck and back muscles. As an extrapyramidal symptom, it occurs in wide variety of diseases including meningitis, tetanus, metabolic disorders, brain injuries and degenerative diseases, as a side effect of drugs (e. g. certain neuroleptics used since mid 20th century CE), or in conversion disorders. Since Charcot's description of the opisthotonos or "arc de cercle" in the context of hysteria, it has been connected to psychoanalysis and the roots of modern psychosomatic thinking.

Picture: [[1]]

See also: Opisthonicos, Tetanus

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