During a neurologic examination Dr.M asks Joe to close his eyes and puts a dime in his left hand.Joe is asked to identify it only by touch.Joe can't.Then the doctor asks Joe to take that object with his right hand and asks him again.Joe still can't come up with a response.When testing tactile sensation with a wisp of cotton on Joe's fingers and hands,sensation appears to be normal.When Joe opened his eyes he said: "Oh! A dime!" This patient probably suffers from:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The symptoms described suggest that the patient has difficulty identifying objects by touch alone, which is a condition called astereognosis. This can occur due to damage to the somatosensory pathways in the brain. The normal sensation to cotton testing implies that cutaneous numbness is unlikely to be the cause of the patient's symptoms. Visual agnosia and mind blindness are not relevant to the patient's symptoms.

During a Neurologic Examination Dr