rhythmical contraction of the palatal muscles. There are two forms, ordinary and essential. Ordinary palatal myoclonus is idiopathic and can result in *pulsatile tinnitus. Essential palatal myoclonus has no link to pulsatile tinnitus but may be associated with lesions of the brainstem.
A brief, twitching muscular contraction which may involve only a single muscle or many muscles (see MUSCLE). It may be too slight to cause movement of the affected limb, or so violent as to throw the victim to the ?oor. The cause is not known, but in some cases may be a form of EPILEPSY. A single myoclonic jerk in the upper limbs occasionally occurs in minor motor epilepsy (petit mal). The myoclonic jerks which many people experience on falling asleep are a perfectly normal phenomenon.... myoclonus
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