Joseph Babinski: the phenomenon of the toes

Joseph Babinski first described the plantar cutaneous reflex that bears his name in two papers in 1896 and 1898. He linked the sign, which he termed "the phenomenon of the toes," to disturbances of the pyramidal tract. In the nearly 90 years that have elapsed since the original description, little significant elaboration has been made upon Babinski's initial works. Although the reflex is best known in conjunction with organic disease involving structural injury to the corticospinal tract, it may be present in a number of toxic and metabolic disturbances. These are diverse, and no satisfactory explanation exists to explain the presence of the reflex in such clinical entities. In some instances the reflex reverts to normal following improvement of the underlying condition.