The knee jerk reflex can be tested by tapping just below the knee causing the lower leg to suddenly jerk forward. You are working the patella tendon. This is the tendon that runs down from the ...

He compares it to the patellar reflex. If you tap someone below their kneecap, their thigh muscle will contract—and just as ...

Are reflexes different to reactions? Yes. An example of a reflex is when someone taps the knee (patella) tendon softly with a mallet. Your knee lurches forward and your brain has no control over its ...

Reported to the Section for Clinical Medicine, Pathology and Hygiene of the Suffolk District Medical Society, June 9, 1885.