The finger-nose test assesses upper limb co-ordination.
The patient is asked to touch his nose with his finger and then to touch the examiner's forefinger at full extension. When the patient's eyes are open the examiner moves his finger to alternate positions. The patient repeats the process of touching his nose and then the examiner's finger as quickly as possible.
Next the examiner maintains his forefinger at one location and the patient repeats the process, first with eyes open and then with them closed, as quickly as possible.
Interpretation of results: the examiner is looking for intention tremor - no tremor at rest - and past-pointing - the patient's finger overshoots the target. These are signs of cerebellar disease.
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page