Does 発作 imply involuntary muscle movement?


Most Americans hear "seizure" and envision a loss of muscle control. But there
are many kinds of "seizures".

When a Japanese hears "発作" do they also imagine a loss of muscle control? Some
seizures are as benign as a temporary loss of awareness of one's surroundings.




発作 by itself refers to a sudden "attack" of symptom, and it is used with
various diseases:

  * A [喘息]{ぜん・そく} (asthma) の発作 causes breathlessness.
  * A 痛風 (gout) の発作 causes severe foot pain.
  * 心臓発作 refers to heart attacks, typically due to angina pectoris.

_Epileptic seizure_ is specifically called てんかん発作, where てんかん is _epilepsy_
(disease name). Sometimes てんかん by itself can refer to individual seizure
episodes, although it's technically incorrect.

What people imagine with てんかん発作 depends on how much they know about epilepsy
and seizures. There are probably many people who only know the "grand mal"
type (known as 大発作 in Japanese). Professional healthcare providers might
wonder "What kind of 発作 are you talking about?"
[Here](http://www.tenkan.info/sp/spasm/visual/) is the list of 発作 of epilepsy,
written in Japanese.

Finally, けいれん is the word that refers to involuntary and spastic muscle
movements (symptom name; caused by various diseases).




発作 by itself refers to a sudden "attack" of symptom, and it is used with
various diseases:

  * A [喘息]{ぜん・そく} (asthma) の発作 causes breathlessness.
  * A 痛風 (gout) の発作 causes severe foot pain.
  * 心臓発作 refers to heart attacks, typically due to angina pectoris.

_Epileptic seizure_ is specifically called てんかん発作, where てんかん is _epilepsy_
(disease name). Sometimes てんかん by itself can refer to individual seizure
episodes, although it's technically incorrect.

What people imagine with てんかん発作 depends on how much they know about epilepsy
and seizures. There are probably many people who only know the "grand mal"
type (known as 大発作 in Japanese). Professional healthcare providers might
wonder "What kind of 発作 are you talking about?"
[Here](http://www.tenkan.info/sp/spasm/visual/) is the list of 発作 of epilepsy,
written in Japanese.

Finally, けいれん is the word that refers to involuntary and spastic muscle
movements (symptom name; caused by various diseases).

