Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Focal myoclonic seizure

HP:0011166

What it means

A type of focal motor seizure characterized by sudden, brief (<100 ms) involuntary single or multiple contraction(s) of muscles(s) or muscle groups of variable topography (axial, proximal limb, distal). Myoclonus is less regularly repetitive and less sustained than is clonus.

Rare diseases that can present with this9

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Focal myoclonic seizures · Local myoclonic seizures · Localised myoclonic seizure · Localized myoclonic seizure · Partial myoclonic seizure · Partial myoclonic seizures · Segmental myoclonic seizure · Segmental myoclonic seizures

Focal myoclonic seizure

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This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.