Literary notes about spastic (AI summary)
The word "spastic" is used in literature primarily as a descriptive term to characterize abnormal muscle tone and movement disorders. It is often found in clinical contexts where it qualifies various neurological conditions, such as a spastic gait ([1], [2]), spastic hemiplegia associated with internal capsule lesions ([3], [4]), and spastic stiffness in cases of paralysis ([5], [6]). Beyond neurology, the term also appears in descriptions of non-neurological conditions, for instance in relation to spastic stenosis affecting the esophagus ([7], [8]), and even metaphorically to underscore erratic or exaggerated states ([9]). This multifaceted usage highlights its adaptability as both a precise clinical descriptor and a broader literary device.
- Excessive rigidity of the legs; flexion difficult; spastic gait, the legs becoming interlocked, and walking is difficult or impossible.
— from New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers - In walking the right leg was dragged behind in a spastic-paretic fashion.
— from Shell-Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric ProblemsPresented in Five Hundred and Eighty-nine Case Histories from the War Literature, 1914-1918 by Elmer Ernest Southard - Lesions in the region of the internal capsule often produce complete spastic hemiplegia of the opposite side of the body.
— from Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson - This hemiplegia was a spastic one, of a classical nature, with Babinski sign and exaggeration of tendon reflexes.
— from Shell-Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric ProblemsPresented in Five Hundred and Eighty-nine Case Histories from the War Literature, 1914-1918 by Elmer Ernest Southard - The spastic paralysis did not seem organic as the leg was dragged behind.
— from Shell-Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric ProblemsPresented in Five Hundred and Eighty-nine Case Histories from the War Literature, 1914-1918 by Elmer Ernest Southard - There was also a spastic paralysis of the right arm, but the shoulder girdle movements were not impaired.
— from Shell-Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric ProblemsPresented in Five Hundred and Eighty-nine Case Histories from the War Literature, 1914-1918 by Elmer Ernest Southard - A very large dilatation of the thoracic esophagus indicates spastic stenosis.
— from Bronchoscopy and EsophagoscopyA Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Chevalier Jackson - Simple ulcer of the esophagus is usually associated with stenosis, spastic or organic.
— from Bronchoscopy and EsophagoscopyA Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Chevalier Jackson - This spastic nature was further exacerbated by the egregious behaviour of the superpowers.
— from After the Rain : how the West lost the East by Samuel Vaknin
