What is knee-jerk policy?
If you call someone’s response to a question or situation a knee-jerk reaction, you mean that they react in a very predictable way, without thinking. [disapproval]
What is an example of a knee-jerk?
You use the phrase ‘Knee Jerk Reaction’ to indicate that you’ve made an automatic response to something. Example of use: “I hauled off and hit him when he jumped out at me. I know he was playing a trick, but it was a knee jerk reaction!”
What type of action is the knee-jerk reaction?
The knee-jerk reflex, also known as the patellar reflex, is a simple reflex that causes the contraction of the quadriceps muscle when the patellar tendon is stretched. I describe the course of the reflex arc from muscle spindles in the quadriceps muscle to motor neurons that cause movement of the leg.
How did knee-jerk reaction get its name?
The term knee-jerk was recorded by Sir Michael Foster in his Textbook of physiology in 1877: “Striking the tendon below the patella gives rise to a sudden extension of the leg, known as the knee-jerk.”
Why does my knee-jerk?
The involuntary contraction of muscles that occur when your knee twitches, are usually caused by the muscles in your thigh, rather than the knee itself. The occasional twitch of your knee (or any body part) is normal.
What is the purpose of the knee-jerk reflex test?
The patellar reflex test is performed to determine the integrity of the neurological function, which is accomplished by hitting the patellar tendon below the knee cap with a test hammer [2].
What happens during a knee-jerk reflex?
knee-jerk reflex, also called patellar reflex, sudden kicking movement of the lower leg in response to a sharp tap on the patellar tendon, which lies just below the kneecap. In reaction these muscles contract, and the contraction tends to straighten the leg in a kicking motion.
What happens in a knee-jerk reflex?
Why is knee jerk reflex important?
In reaction these muscles contract, and the contraction tends to straighten the leg in a kicking motion. Exaggeration or absence of the reaction suggests that there may be damage to the central nervous system. The knee jerk can also be helpful in recognizing thyroid disease.
What is the purpose of the knee jerk reflex test?