Paralysis is a 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 in the U.S. have been diagnosed with some form of paralysis, transient or permanent.[1] The word comes from the Greek παράλυσις, “disabling of the nerves”, itself from παρά (para), “beside, by” and (lysis), “losing” and that from “to lose”. A paralysis accompanied by involuntary tremors is usually called “palsy”.