Bathesthesia

Bathesthesia (from Greek bathos-depth and aisthesis-sensation), deep sensitivity, sensitivity of deep tissues and organs - sensations caused by irritations coming from deep organs (fascia, muscles, ligaments, bones, etc.).-Types of it: sense of pressure (baresthesia), vibratory sense (pallesthesia), muscle-joint sense (kinaesthesia) with its subtypes: evaluation of weights and resistances, sensation of active and passive movements, sensation of body position and its parts, evaluation of object shapes (stereognostic sense). Deep sensitivity is conducted to the brain along the posterior root fibers of the posterior columns. - Disorders of deep sensitivity can be general; then one distinguishes decrease - bathhypaesthesia, increase-bathhyperaesthesia and absence-bathanaesthesia; in partial lesions, corresponding terms are used that determine the nature of the disorder, combining this term with the designation of the type of sensitivity, e.g., pallesthesia-loss of vibratory sensitivity, etc. Bathmotropic Action (from Greek bathmos-threshold and trope-turn), a term proposed by Engellmann for denoting the influence of centrifugal cardiac nerves on the sensitivity of the heart to external irritations, increasing (positive B. d.) or decreasing it (negative B. d.). Heart sensitivity is measured by the minimal (threshold) irritation that still produces an effect. According to some studies, the atria of the carp, frog during stimulation of the vagus nerves are completely insensitive to artificial irritations. On the atria of warm-blooded animals, Mac William found in these cases a decrease in excitability. In recent times, the term B. d. is also applied to the corresponding influences of various pharmacological agents.