During the clonic phase of a seizure, which of the following occurs?

• A. Body jerks violently
• B. Body stiffens
• C. Loss of consciousness with no movement
• D. Short-term confusion after the seizure

Answer: (A)

In the clonic phase, the muscles repeatedly contract and relax, producing rapid, rhythmic jerking movements of the limbs and body. This phase follows the initial stiffening (tonic) phase in a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, where the body becomes rigid due to sustained muscle contraction. The other options don’t describe the clonic activity: stiffening is the tonic phase, and loss of consciousness with no movement describes absence or a nonconvulsive state rather than the jerking seen in clonic activity. Short-term confusion after the seizure refers to the postictal recovery period, not the clonic phase itself.