The Santmyer swallow: a new and useful infant reflex.
A puff of air administered to the face of 102 subjects (from 33 week's gestation on the first day of life to age 42 years) elicited a reflex swallow identical to a normal primary peristaltic sequence in 88. Subjects who responded were younger than 24 months of age or severely disabled neurologically; those who did not respond were older than 11 months and free of neurological abnormality. Response was variable between 11 and 24 months. This swallow response appears to be a clinically useful but previously unrecognised infant reflex.
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000388:Air; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003679:Deglutition; D004943:Esophagogastric Junction / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010528:Peristalsis; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*