Taber's Medical Dictionary
sign
(sīn )
[L. signum, a mark, token]
1. A symbol or abbreviation, esp. one used in pharmacy.
2. Any objective evidence or manifestation of an illness or disordered function of the body. Signs are apparent to observers; symptoms are the patient’s subjective feelings.
SEE: symptom
3. To use sign language to communicate.
1Abadie sign
SEE: 1Abadie sign
2Abadie sign
SEE: 2Abadie sign
Ahlfeld sign
SEE: Ahlfeld sign
air bronchogram sign
Radiographic appearance of an air-filled bronchus as it passes through an area of increased anatomic density, as in pulmonary edema and pneumonia.
air crescent sign
In imaging of the lung, the finding of a halo or ring of air around a lung mass. It is often found in cavitary lung diseases like aspergillosis.
Allis sign
Amoss sign
SEE: Amoss sign
anterior drawer sign
applause sign
The tendency of those with certain neurodegenerative disorders (such as progressive supranuclear palsy and related syndromes) to continue clapping their hands after they are asked to clap them just three times.
Asboe-Hansen sign
SEE: Asboe-Hansen sign
Auenbrugger sign
SEE: Auenbrugger sign
Aufrecht sign
SEE: Aufrecht sign
Auspitz sign
SEE: Auspitz sign
Babinski sign
Battle sign
SEE: Battle sign
beaten-silver skull sign
The thinned, irregular appearance of the skull, as seen on x-ray examination of children with obstructive hydrocephalus.
belly dancer sign
Movement of the umbilicus of the newborn while breathing. It is a rarely observed physical finding in newborn infants born with paralysis of one half of the diaphragm.
Bjerrum sign
Beevor sign
SEE: Beevor sign
Bloomberg sign
SEE: Rebound tenderness.
Branham sign
SEE: Branham sign
Broadbent sign
SEE: Broadbent sign
Brudzinski sign
SEE: Brudzinski sign
Bryant sign
SEE: Bryant sign
Cardarelli sign
SEE: Cardarelli sign
Carnett sign
SEE: Carnett sign
Carvallo sign
SEE: Carvallo sign
Castell sign
SEE: Castell sign
Chadwick sign
SEE: Chadwick sign
chandelier sign
Intense pelvic and lower abdominal pain brought on by palpation of the cervix. The sign points to the presence of pelvic inflammatory disease.
Chapman sign
SEE: Chapman sign
Chvostek sign
SEE: Chvostek sign
Cleeman sign
SEE: Cleeman sign
Comolli sign
SEE: Comolli sign
Coopernail sign
SEE: Coopernail sign
corona radiata sign
Filaments extending outward from a radiographically visualized mass. The presence of such filaments suggests that the mass is growing centrifugally and therefore may be malignant.
Courvoisier sign
Cullen sign
SEE: Cullen sign
Dance sign
SEE: Dance sign
Darier sign
Davidsohn sign
SEE: Davidsohn sign
Dawson sign
SEE: Dawson sign
de Musset sign
SEE: Musset sign
dimple sign
A sign to differentiate dermatofibroma, a benign lesion, from nodular melanoma, which it may mimic. On application of lateral pressure with the thumb and index finger, the dermatofibroma becomes dimpled or indented, whereas melanomas, melanocytic nevi, and normal skin protrude above the initial plane.
Dorendorf sign
SEE: Dorendorf sign
drawer sign
SEE: Drawer test.
SEE: anterior drawer test
echo sign
Repetition of the closing word of a sentence, a sign of epilepsy or other brain conditions.
Enroth sign
SEE: Enroth sign
Faget sign
SEE: Faget sign
fallen lung sign
The radiological appearance of traumatic transection or rupture of the trachea or a main stem bronchus, consisting of a collapsed lung that seems to dangle from the hilum by only its vascular attachments. Pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema are sometimes seen with tracheobronchial tears.
flag sign
A peculiar change in hair color in which the hair becomes discolored in a band perpendicular to its long axis. This is seen in kwashiorkor and indicates a period of severe malnutrition.
flick sign
Rapid back and forth movement of the hand and fingers when patients experience painful symptoms in them. The finding is an imprecise and unreliable physical diagnostic sign in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Frank sign
SEE: Frank sign
Friedreich sign
SEE: Friedreich, Nikolaus
Froment sign
SEE: Froment sign
Galeazzi sign
SEE: Galeazzi sign
Gauss sign
SEE: Gauss sign
Goodell sign
SEE: Goodell sign
Gottron sign
SEE: Gottron sign
Gowers sign
Grancher sign
SEE: Grancher sign
Grey Turner sign
SEE: Grey Turner sign
Guyon sign
SEE: Guyon, Felix J.C.
hair collar sign
In the newborn, a ring of long, dark, coarse hair surrounding a midline nodule on the scalp. This may indicate neural tube closure defect.
hamburger sign
SEE: Naked facet sign.
harlequin sign
A benign, transient color change seen in neonates in which one half of the body blanches while the other half becomes redder, with a clear line of demarcation.
Hatchcock sign
SEE: Hatchcock sign
Hegar sign
SEE: Hegar sign
Hicks sign
SEE: Hicks sign
Hill sign
SEE: Hill sign
Hochsinger sign
SEE: Hochsinger sign
holster sign
Poikiloderma of the upper outer thigh. It is a characteristic finding in patients with dermatomyositis.
Homans sign
SEE: Homans sign
Hoover sign
SEE: Hoover sign
Jacquemier sign
SEE: Jacquemier sign
Jellinek sign
SEE: Jellinek sign
jersey finger sign
Inability to flex the distal interphalangeal joint of a finger as the result of a rupture of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon. The patient is unable to make a fist.
jump sign
During physical examination, an involuntary reaction to stimulation of a tender area or trigger point. This may take the form of wincing or sudden jerking of the part being examined, of adjacent areas, or even of the entire body. This sign should not be confused with the startle reaction seen in jumping Frenchmen of Maine.
Kehr sign
SEE: Kehr sign
Kernig sign
SEE: Kernig sign
Kocher sign
SEE: Kocher sign
Korányi sign
SEE: Korányi sign
Kussmaul sign
SEE: Kussmaul, Adolph
Lasègue sign
SEE:
SEE: Lasègue sign
Lazarus sign
SEE: Lazarus sign
lemon sign
Scalloping of the frontal bones of the fetus, a sign in prenatal ultrasonography in which the bones resemble the shape of a lemon. It is indicative of fetal cranial abnormalities found in the second trimester that can be markers for a neural tube defect.
Levine sign
SEE: Levine sign
Lhermitte sign
SEE: Lhermitte sign
Mannkopf sign
SEE: Mannkopf sign
Marie sign
SEE: Marie, Pierre Marie
Markle sign
SEE: Markle sign
Mayne sign
SEE: Mayne sign
McBurney sign
SEE: McBurney, Charles
McMurray sign
Möbius sign
SEE: Möbius, Paul Julius
Munson sign
SEE: Munson sign
Murphy sign
Musset sign
SEE: Musset sign
Myerson sign
SEE: Myerson sign
naked facet sign
The radiographic appearance of spinal facet joints that have been disrupted by flexion injuries to the thoracic or lumbar spine. CT scanning of the joints shows that the inferior facets of the upper vertebrae are not directly aligned above the superior facets of the lower vertebrae.
SYN: SEE: hamburger sign
negative sign
Minus sign (−) used in subtraction to denote something that is below zero or to indicate a lack.
NFL touchdown sign
SEE: Touchdown sign.
Nikolsky sign
SEE: Nikolsky sign
objective sign
In physical diagnosis, a sign that can be seen, heard, measured, or felt by the diagnostician. Finding of such sign(s) can be used to confirm or deny the diagnostician's impressions of the suspected disease.
SYN: SEE: physical sign
obturator sign
Pain on inward rotation of the hip, which stretches the obturator internus muscle. The result may be positive in acute appendicitis.
Oliver s.
SEE: Oliver s.
orbicular s.,
orbicularis s.SEE: Révilliod sign.
peroneal sign
Eversion and dorsiflexion of the foot resulting from tapping the peroneal nerve with a reflex hammer.
physical sign
SEE: Objective sign.
Pins sign
SEE: Pins sign
Popeye sign
SEE: Popeye sign.
positive signs of pregnancy
Assessment findings present only during pregnancy: fetal heart tones, fetal movements felt by the examiner, and fetal visualization by sonogram.
postural vital signs
Measurement of the blood pressure and pulse when a patient is first lying, then sitting, and finally standing.
SEE: orthostatic vital signs determination.
Potain sign
Pratt sign
SEE: Pratt sign
Prehn sign
SEE: Prehn sign
presumptive sign of pregnancy
Any of the signs and symptoms commonly associated with pregnancy that may be present in other conditions.
SEE: pregnancy
probable sign of pregnancy
Any of the objective findings that strongly suggest but do not confirm pregnancy.
SEE: pregnancy
puddle sign
A physical finding in some patients with moderate ascites, in which dullness to percussion is heard when the patient's umbilicus is percussed with the patient in a kneeling position.
psoas sign
Abdominal pain produced by extension of the hip. The sign indicates a retrocecal or retroperitoneal lesion.
Queckenstedt sign
SEE: Queckenstedt sign
Queen Anne sign
SEE: Queen Anne sign
raccoon sign
Periorbital ecchymosis. It may be present in patients who have a basilar skull fracture.
Raimiste sign
SEE: Raimiste phenomenon.
Ransohoff sign
SEE: Ransohoff sign
Remak sign
SEE: Remak sign
Révilliod sign
SEE: Révilliod sign
Ripault sign
SEE: Ripault sign
Romana sign
SEE: Romana sign
Romberg sign
SEE: Romberg sign
Rosenbach sign
SEE: Rosenbach, Ottomar
Rovsing sign
SEE: Rovsing sign
Scarf sign
SEE: Scarf sign
Schamroth sign
SEE: Schamroth sign
scrotal sign of Bryant
SEE: Bryant sign.
seat belt sign
Bruising or abrasions extending in a line from one side of the lower abdomen to the other or diagonally from the one side of the neck to the lower abdomen on the opposite side of the body. It is a marker of potentially severe internal injuries after a crash.
shawl sign
The presence of pigmented skin overlying the neck, upper back, and shoulders. It is a characteristic finding in patients with dermatomyositis.
soft sign
Any of a number of signs that, considered collectively, are felt to indicate the presence of damage to the central nervous system. These signs include incoordination, visual motor difficulties, nystagmus, the presence of associated movements, and difficulties with motor control.
solar eclipse sign
The appearance of an intussusception on a barium enema when the encircling bowel is seen in line with the ensheathed bowel lumen. The cylindrical ring of the intussusception captures radiographic contrast and resembles the corona seen around the sun during a solar eclipse.
spinnaker sail sign
An outline of the thymus of a child by radiolucent lines. It is seen on chest x-ray examinations of children with pneumomediastinum.
spot sign
In angiography, evidence of leakage (extravasation) of radiographic contrast from a blood vessel.
Stabler sign
SEE: Stabler sign
steeple sign
Narrowing of the column of subglottic air in the trachea, seen on anteroposterior radiographs of the neck in children with croup.
Stellwag sign
SEE: Stellwag sign
string sign
In gastrointestinal radiology, extreme narrowing of a segment of the terminal ileum (in Crohn disease) or of the pylorus (in congenital pyloric stenosis).
Strümpell sign
sunset sign
An assessment finding often associated with hydrocephaly in newborns; the newborn's eyes are open with the irises directed downward, resembling the sun setting below the horizon.
Tanyoz sign
SEE: Tanyoz sign
target s.
Bilateral bruising of the thighs in patients with advanced chronic obstructive lung disease, who rest their elbows on their legs in order to breathe more easily.
SYN: SEE: Dahl sign; SEE: Thinker sign
Tarnier sign
SEE: Tarnier sign
theater sign
Pain in the anterior knee that is felt after prolonged sitting. It is a symptom sometimes reported by patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Thinker sign
thinker’s signSEE: Target sign.
thumb sign
Protrusion of the thumb across the palm and beyond the clenched fist; seen in Marfan syndrome.
Tinel sign
SEE: Tinel sign
touchdown sign
Inability to raise the arms overhead, a finding in patients with adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder.
SYN: SEE: overhead arm raise test
Tournay sign
SEE: Tournay sign
Trendelenburg sign
SEE: Trendelenburg sign
Trousseau sign
SEE: Trousseau, Armand
Uhthoff sign
SEE: Uhthoff sign
vital signs
The four physical signs concerning functions essential to life: pulse, rate of respiration, blood pressure, and temperature. Some geriatric specialists consider walking speed to be another vital sign, and patient’s level of subjective pain and/or distress are considered by some experts to represent vital data.
von Graefe sign
SEE: Graefe, Albrecht von
Waddell sign
SEE: Waddell sign
Walker-Murdoch sign
SEE: Walker-Murdoch sign.
Westermark sign
SEE: Westermark sign
