Paresis vs. Plegia

Main Difference

The main difference between Paresis and Plegia is that the Paresis is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement and Plegia is a loss of muscle function for one or more muscles.

• Paresis

  Paresis () is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement, or partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it can also be used to describe the muscles of the eyes (ophthalmoparesis), the stomach (gastroparesis), and also the vocal cords (Vocal cord paresis). Neurologists use the term paresis to describe weakness, and plegia to describe paralysis in which all voluntary movement is lost. The term paresis comes from the Ancient Greek: πάρεσις “letting go” from παρίημι “to let go, to let fall”.

• Plegia

  Paralysis is a loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. About 1 in 50 people in the United States have been diagnosed with some form of paralysis, transient or permanent. The word comes from the Greek παράλυσις, “disabling of the nerves”, itself from παρά (para), “beside, by” and λύσις (lysis), “losing” and that from λύω (luō), “to lose”. A paralysis accompanied by involuntary tremors is usually called “palsy”.