What is "athetosis"

Athetosis \Ath`e*to"sis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? not fixed; 'a priv. + ? to set.] (Med.) A variety of chorea, marked by peculiar tremors of the fingers and toes.

1871, from Greek athetos "not fixed, without position or place, set aside" + -osis. Coined by U.S. nerve specialist William Alexander Hammond (1828-1900).

n. (context symptom English) A series of involuntary writhing movements of the limbs, typically bilateral and symmetric and predominantly affecting the distal parts of the limbs.

n. a continuous succession of slow writing involuntary movements of the hands and feet and other body parts

Athetosis is a symptom characterized by slow, involuntary, convoluted, writhing movements of the fingers, hands, toes, and feet and in some cases, arms, legs, neck and tongue. Movements typical of athetosis are sometimes called athetoid movements. Lesions to the brain are most often the direct cause of the symptoms, particularly to the corpus striatum. This symptom does not occur alone and is often accompanied by the symptoms of cerebral palsy, as it is often a result of this disease. Treatments for athetosis are not very effective, and in most cases are simply aimed at the uncontrollable movement, rather than the cause itself.