| Ballance's sign | <clinical sign> The presence of a dull percussion note in both flanks, constant on the left side but shifting with change of position on the right, said to indicate ruptured spleen; the dullness is due to the presence of blood, fluid on the right side but coagulated on the left. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| Bamberger's sign | <clinical sign> Jugular pulse in tricuspid insufficiency. Synonym: allochiria. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bandage sign | A tourniquet test for capillary fragility, often positive in the presence of severe thrombocytopenia. See: capillary fragility test. Synonym: bandage sign, Hess' test, Rumpel-Leede sign. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Barany's sign | <clinical sign> In cases of ear disease, in which the vestibule is healthy, injection into the external auditory canal of water below the body temperature (18캜 or lower) will cause rotary nystagmus toward the opposite side; when the injected fluid is above the body temperature (41캜 or higher) the nystagmus will be toward the injected side; if the labyrinth is diseased or nonfunctional there may be diminished or absent nystagmus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Barre's sign | <clinical sign> if the hemiplegic is placed in the prone position with the limbs flexed at the knees, he is unable to maintain the flexed position on the side of the lesion but extends the leg. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bassler's sign | <clinical sign> In chronic appendicitis, pinching the appendix between the thumb and the iliacus muscle causes sharp pain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bastedo's sign | <clinical sign> An obsolete sign: in chronic appendicitis, pain and tenderness in the right iliac fossa on inflation of the colon with air. (05 Mar 2000) |
| battle's sign | <clinical sign> Postauricular (behind the ear) ecchymosis in cases of fracture of the base of the skull (basal skull fracture). (27 Sep 1997) |
| beak sign | <clinical sign> Appearance of the distal oesophagus, on a contrast oesophagram, in achalasia; also used to describe the proximal pyloric canal on upper GI series in congenital pyloric stenosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bechterew's sign | <clinical sign> Paralysis of automatic facial movements, the power of voluntary movement being retained. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Beevor's sign | <clinical sign> With paralysis of the lower portions of the recti abdominis muscles the umbilicus moves upward. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bezold's sign | Inflammatory oedema at the tip of the mastoid process in mastoiditis. Synonym: Bezold's sign. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Biederman's sign | <clinical sign> A dusky redness of the lower portion of the anterior pillars of the fauces in certain cases of syphilis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bielschowsky's sign | <clinical sign> In paralysis of a superior oblique muscle, tilting the head to the side of the involved eye causes that eye to rotate upward. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Biermer's sign | <clinical sign> Complete bilateral paralysis of the adductor muscles of the larynx with severe inspiratory dyspnea. Synonym: Biermer's sign. (05 Mar 2000) |