Editing Plantar reflex (section)

{{Short description|Reflex elicited when the sole of the foot is stimulated with a blunt instrument}}
{{Infobox diagnostic |
  Name        = Plantar reflex <br> Babinski response/Babinski sign (pathological) |
  Image       = File:Lawrence 1960 20.4-en.svg|
  Caption     = The reflex occurs upon stroking of the sole of the foot with a blunt object such as a pen. If the reflex occurs in adults as illustrated at bottom it may be due to nerve damage or disease. |
  Width       = 300px |
  ICD10       = |
  ICD9        = {{ICD9proc|796.1}} |
  MeshID      = |
  MedlinePlus = 003294 |
  OtherCodes  = |}}

The '''plantar reflex''' is a [[reflex]] elicited when the sole of the foot is stimulated with a blunt instrument. The reflex can take one of two forms.  In healthy adults, the plantar reflex causes a downward response of the [[hallux]] ([[flexion]]). 

An upward response ([[Extension (kinesiology)|extension]]) of the hallux is known as the '''Babinski response''' or '''Babinski sign''', named after the neurologist [[Joseph Babinski]]. The presence of the Babinski sign can identify [[disease]] of the [[spinal cord]] and [[Human brain|brain]] in adults, and also exists as a [[Primitive reflexes|primitive reflex]] in [[infant]]s.<ref>{{WhoNamedIt|synd|366}}</ref>

While first described in the medical literature by Babinski in 1896,<ref>''Comptes rendus de la Société de Biologie'', Vol. 48, 1896, p. 207, http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6459605g/f225.image</ref> the reflex has been identified in art at least as early as [[Botticelli]]'s ''[[Virgin and Child with an Angel (Botticelli, Florence)|Virgin and Child with an Angel]]'', painted in the mid-[[15th century]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Massey|first1=E. W.|last2=Sanders|first2=L.|title=Babinski's Sign in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Art|journal=Archives of Neurology|date=1 January 1989|volume=46|issue=1|pages=85–88|doi=10.1001/archneur.1989.00520370087025|pmid=2642699 }}</ref>