THE PLANTAR REFLEX - RePub

9. The paradoxical downward toe response in acute transverse lesions of
the spinal cord, caused by relative sparing of sacral segments from
reflex depression, is not always slow or prolonged, nor is it always
indicative of a complete transection.
10. Pyramidal projections onto individual motoneurones of muscles that
move the foot and toes are identical to or at least closely connected with
the fibres that 'suppress' the Babinski sign.
11. The unpredictable behaviour of the pyramidal syndrome as a whole is
not the result of different origins of the fibres in question, but of their
divergent terminations within the spinal gray matter.
12. Only patients who show loss of skilled foot movements are 'entitled'
to a Babinski sign.
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