II. Exam: Distinguishing Upper from Lower Motor Neuron Injury
-
Upper Motor Neuron Lesion (lesion proximal to the spinal cord anterior horn cells)
- Hyperreflexia
- Clonus
- Motor Spasticity
- Increased muscle tone
- Babinski sign positive
- Muscles without atrophy (normal muscle mass)
-
Lower Motor Neuron Lesion (lesion distal to the spinal cord anterior horn cells)
- Motor Weakness
- Muscle Atrophy
- Muscle Fasciculations
- Deep Tendon Reflexes decreased
III. Causes
- Complete transection of the spinal cord
- Partial spinal cord injuries
- Images
IV. References
- Decker in Chorley and Bachur (2014) Overview of Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries..., UpToDate, Wolters-Kluwer
- Wagner (1997) Emerg Med Clin North Am 15:699-711 [PubMed]
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| Concepts | Injury or Poisoning (T037) |
| SnomedCT | 282784007 |
| English | spinal cord syndrome, cord spinal syndrome, cord spinal syndromes, Spinal cord syndrome, spinal cord syndrome (diagnosis), Spinal cord syndrome (disorder) |
| Spanish | síndrome de médula espinal (trastorno), síndrome de médula espinal |
