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.

Abadie sign (1)

SEE: 1Abadie sign

Abadie sign (2)

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

SEE: Allis, Oscar Huntington

Amoss sign

SEE: Amoss sign

anterior drawer sign

SEE: Anterior drawer test.

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

SEE: Babinski, Joseph-François-Felix

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

SEE: Bjerrum, Jannik Petersen

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

SEE: Courvoisier, Ludwig Georg

Cullen sign

SEE: Cullen sign

Dance sign

SEE: Dance sign

Darier sign

SEE: Darier, Ferdinand Jean

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

SEE: Gowers, Sir William Richard

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

SEE: McMurray, Thomas Porter

Möbius sign

SEE: Möbius, Paul Julius

Munson sign

SEE: Munson sign

Murphy sign

SEE: Murphy, John Benjamin

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 sign

SEE: Oliver sign

orbicular sign

orbicularis signSEE: 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

SEE: Potain, Pierre Charles Édouard

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

SEE: Strümpell, Adolf G. G. von

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 sign

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