ortho percussion

(or"tho-pur-kus's hun) [G. orthos,- straight.] Very light percu ion of the chest, made in a sagittal direction {i.e. antero-posteriorly, and not perpendicularly to the wall of the chest) by one finger striking the knuckle of the pleximeter finger bent at a right angle, the impact being transmitted through the two phalanges (middle and distal) to the tip of the finger resting in an intercostal space; it is employed to determine the size of the heart, the faint percu ion sound disappearing when the heart is reached even though that may be overlapped by a layer of the lung; called also Golds che i der's method. The normal condition in which the tension of the extrinsic eye muscles is equal, the visual axes being therefore parallel, as then'ic o., a condition in which there is general weakne of the ocular muscles, the relative tension being undisturbed. orthos, correct, regular.] See phosphoric* acid. straight, + pnoe, a breathing.] Ability to breathe with comfort only when sitting erect or standing. nea. praxis, a doing, making.] Orthopedics, ortho morphia, the correction of deformities.