Oppenheim Reflex
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
The Oppenheim reflex is the plantar flexion of the toes when the inner surface of the shin is irritated. In pathological conditions with pyramidal tract damage, it causes dorsal flexion of the toes and foot, similar to the Babinski reflex.
Encyclopedia article (1928–1936)
OPPENHEIM REFLEX, plantar flexion of the toes of the foot when the inner surface of the shin is irritated. Method of elicitation: with the pulp of the thumb or the second phalanx of the bent index finger, forcefully draw from top to bottom along the inner surface of the shin. In normal conditions, this either causes plantar flexion of the toes and foot or no motor effect appears at all. In pathological conditions, with lesions of the pyramidal tract, on the contrary, dorsal flexion of the toes, especially the big toe, and of the foot occurs, and either only the m. tibialis ant. and the m. extensor hallucis longus, or all the extensors located on the shin, become tense. In general, the motor effect of the O. reflex is completely identical to the motor effect of the Babinski reflex, just as the diagnostic significance of both reflexes as signs of damage to the central motor neuron is identical.
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Cite this page
“Oppenheim Reflex.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/oppenheim-reflex/