Definition
noun
A test named after the two neurologists, Gordon Morgan Holmes and Thomas Grainger Stewart, to determine possible cerebellar disease by observing the rebound control of the patient after the examiner abruptly releases his grip on the patient’s wrist
Supplement
To conduct this test, the examiner asks the patient to flex his arm and clench his wrist. The patient is next asked to resist while the examiner grips his wrist and pulls it away. The examiner, then, abruptly releases the wrist and observes for the rapid rebound control of the patient. When the patient fails to control the rebound it could indicate damage in the cerebellum region of the brain.
The examiner should make sure to protect the patient before conducting the test to prevent the patient from hitting himself with his fist should the latter fails to control the rebound after releasing the grip on his wrist.
See also:
Dictionary > Stewart-Holmes test
