Medical Dictionary

Bárány chair

noun Bá·rá·ny chair \ bə-ˈrän-(y)ē-ˌcha(ə)r, -ˌche(ə)r \

medical Definition of Bárány chair

: a chair used especially for demonstrating the effects of circular motion (as on airplane pilots)

Biographical Note for bárány chair

Bárány \ˈbȧ-ˌrȧnʸ\, Robert (1876–1936), Austrian otologist. Bárány's major field of investigation was equilibrium in humans. His investigations into the relationship between the vestibular system of the inner ear and the nervous system prepared the way for the creation of a new field of medicine, otoneurology. Studying the rotatory reaction of the vestibular system, he was able to define the sensation of dizziness in terms of such objective signs as definite eye movements and muscular reactions. In 1906 he devised two tests to measure vestibular function. The first was a caloric test that produced nystagmus by the injection of warm or cold water into the external auditory canal. The second test involved the use of a rotating chair to produce nystagmus. The chair used to administer the test is now known as the Bárány chair. In 1914, Bárány was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.