Term which refers to various types of paralysis, often accompanied by weakness and the loss of feeling and uncontrolled body movements such as shaking. The word originates from the Anglo-Norman paralisie, parleisie et al., from the accusative form of Latin paralysis, from Ancient Greek παράλυσις (parálusis), from παραλύειν (paralúein, “to disable on one side”), from παρά (pará, “beside”) + λύειν (lúein, “loosen”). The word is longstanding in the English language, having appeared in the play Grim the Collier of Croydon, reported to have been written as early as 1599.

Though motor palsies of small muscle groups (i.e., a limited number of muscles controlled by a small area of the motor cortex) have been previously reported, these cases – particularly those with isolated shoulder palsy – are exceedingly rare ¹⁾.

see Cerebral palsy

see Cranial nerve palsy