Galant reflex is a newborn reflex. It is elicited by holding the newborn in ventral suspension (face down) and stroking along the one side of the spine

Vertebral column

In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...

. The normal reaction is for the newborn to laterally flex toward the stimulated side.

This is one of the reflexes tested in newborns to help rule out brain damage at birth.

See also

• Terms for anatomical location
• Anatomical terms of motion
  Anatomical terms of motion
  The movement of body structures is accomplished by the contraction of muscles. Muscles may move parts of the skeleton relatively to each other, or may move parts of internal organs relatively to each other. All such movements are classified by the directions in which the affected structures are moved...
  
  
• Primitive reflexes
  Primitive reflexes
  Primitive reflexes are reflex actions originating in the central nervous system that are exhibited by normal infants but not neurologically intact adults, in response to particular stimuli. These reflexes disappear or are inhibited by the frontal lobes as a child moves through normal child...
  
  

External links

• Newborn Reflexes - fpnotebook.com
• Primitive reflexes - drhull.com
• Galant's reflex - whonamedit.com