fasciculation /fasik′yo͝olā″shən/ [L, fasciculus, little bundle, atio, process] , a localized uncoordinated, uncontrollable twitching of a single muscle group innervated by a single motor nerve fiber or filament that may be palpated and seen under the skin. In anesthesia it refers to muscle twitches that occur with administration of the depolarizing muscle relaxant succinylcholine. It also may be symptomatic of a number of disorders, including dietary deficiency, cerebral palsy, fever, neuralgia, polio, rheumatic heart disease, sodium deficiency, tic, or uremia. Fasciculation of the heart muscle is known as fibrillation. −fascicular, adj., −fasciculate, v.
