ASTEREOGNOSIS Meaning and
Definition
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Astereognosis is a medical term used to describe a particular sensory impairment or disorder in which an individual is unable to recognize or identify objects by touch alone, without using or relying on their vision. The word astereognosis originates from the Greek word "a" meaning "without," "steréo" meaning "solid," and "gnosis" meaning "knowledge," representing the inability to comprehend solid objects through touch.
People with astereognosis typically have intact somatosensory pathways, meaning their peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and somatosensory cortex are functioning properly. However, they experience difficulty in perceiving and interpreting tactile information received through touch, leading to the failure of object recognition based on the sense of touch alone. This condition can affect one or both hands, and in severe cases, even extend to other parts of the body.
Astereognosis often occurs as a result of damage or disruption to the brain's somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for processing and interpreting sensory information from touch receptors in the skin. This damage can be attributed to various factors such as strokes, brain tumors, brain injuries, or degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease.
The inability to properly identify objects through touch alone can significantly impact an individual's daily life by impairing their ability to perform basic tasks such as dressing, feeding, or interacting with their environment. Rehabilitation techniques, including sensory re-education and tactile discrimination exercises, are commonly used to help improve astereognosis by retraining the brain to recognize and interpret tactile sensations accurately.
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Loss of the power of judging of the form of an object by touch.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for ASTEREOGNOSIS
- zstereognosis
- sstereognosis
- wstereognosis
- qstereognosis
- aatereognosis
- aztereognosis
- axtereognosis
- adtereognosis
- aetereognosis
- awtereognosis
- asrereognosis
- asfereognosis
- asgereognosis
- asyereognosis
- as6ereognosis
- as5ereognosis
- astwreognosis
- astsreognosis
- astdreognosis
- astrreognosis
Etymology of ASTEREOGNOSIS
The word "astereognosis" has its roots in Greek. It is derived from the combination of two Greek words: "a" (meaning "without" or "not") and "stereos" (meaning "solid" or "hard"), and "gnosis" (meaning "knowledge" or "perception").
Literally, "astereognosis" can be translated as "without knowledge of solid objects". In medical terminology, it refers to the inability to perceive or recognize objects by touch, despite intact sensation in the affected body part.
Similar spelling words for ASTEREOGNOSIS
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