Medicine. Neurology. Loss or impairment of motor function in a part due to lesion of the neural or muscular mechanism, also by analogy, impairment of sensory function (sensory paralysis). In addition to the types named below, paralysis is further distinguished as traumatic, syphilitic, toxic, etc., according to its cause or as obturator, ulnar, etc., according to the nerve part or muscle specially affected. Origin: Gr. Lyein = to loosen This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology. Paralysis is 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 have been diagnosed with some form of paralysis, transient or permanent. The word comes from the Greek Ď€Î±Ď Î¬Î»Ď…ĎƒÎąĎ‚, "disabling of the nerves", itself from παρά (para), "beside, by" + λύσις (lysis), "loosing" and that from λύω (luĹŤ), "to loose". (An OSH glossary used in safety and health at work which is, adopted by ILO {102}.. The term definition has been obtained from the secondary source