obturator sign

obturator sign

Etymology: L, obturare, to close, signus, sign

a sign of appendicitis or other peritoneal inflammation. The internal rotation of the right leg with the leg flexed to 90 degrees at the hip and knee and a resultant tightening of the internal obturator muscle may cause abdominal discomfort indicative of, for example, appendicitis.

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obturator [ob´too͡-ra″tor]

1. a disk or plate that closes an opening.

2. a prosthesis for closing an acquired or congenital opening of the palate (cleft palate).

obturator sign pain on outward pressure on the obturator foramen as a sign of inflammation in the sheath of the obturator nerve, probably caused by appendicitis.

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obturator sign

Obturator test Internal medicine A clinical finding in a Pt lying on his back with the right hip and knee flexed and rotated internally and externally; pain in the right lower quadrant is due to irritation of the medial internal obturator muscle, and is 'classically' associated with appendicitis, but may also occur in right pelvic abscesses Imaging A unilateral ↑ in obturator muscle bulk, seen as a soft tissue bulge on the inner pelvis with medial displacement of the normal fat line, is characteristic of infectious arthritis, but may be seen in traumatic hemorrhage