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UPDATED: Fri, 12/21/2007 - 9:55am

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Home › Seizure Preparedness › Understanding Seizures and Emergencies

Types of Seizures: Overview


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While seizures may look and feel different, there are basically two major groups of seizures – partial and generalized types of seizures.

Partial seizures

These seizures start in one area of the brain. What happens during a seizure may vary, depending on the area of the brain involved. Partial seizures can affect a person’s awareness or consciousness, perceptions, thinking or other cognitive functions, sensation, movement, or other bodily functions. Partial seizures can be separated into different types, depending on whether consciousness is impaired.

Generalized Seizures

Seizures in this group affect the whole brain from the beginning. Different behaviors may be seen during this type of seizure, depending on how much of the brain is involved. There are many different forms of generalized seizures; the most common ones are tonic clonic ( also called 'grand mal) and absence (also called 'petit mal').

For more information:

Continue to Tonic Clonic Seizures

Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, MD and Patricia O. Shafer, RN, MN.
Last Reviewed:5/25/07


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It has been said repeatedly that there are over 40 different types of seizures with more or less only the most 'popular' listed. Let's see if we can locate all of the common ones, as well as the more rare types of seizures and epilepsy. Some of the names may refer to the same type of seizure or epilepsy and whenever possible, this should be cross-referenced. 

This thread was created by Spiz's curiosity to research how many types of seizures can be located. Anyone interested in helping find them, please list what you find here along with their description.  

See Also:
Types of Epilepsy
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types of seizures, skills, seizure preparedness, resources, plans, partial seizure, information, generalized seizure
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