Soft and drooping; lacking firmness or muscle tone.
From Latin 'flaccidus,' related to 'flaccere' (to be weak or floppy). The word entered English medical and anatomical vocabulary during the Renaissance when scholars revived Latin texts. It originally described muscles or tissues that had lost their natural tension or elasticity.
In neurology, 'flaccid paralysis' is actually different from 'spastic paralysis'—the type tells doctors whether the nerve signal was cut off before or after the muscles, which completely changes how they treat a stroke or spinal injury.
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