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Signs in radiology: the list

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[edit] Format of Signs

  • Please stay close to the given format:
;[[Name of sign]] :Short description of sign


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] A

Accordion sign 
Appearance of bowel that may be seen with pseudomembranous colitis.
Air crescent sign 
Appearance of cavitation that may be seen with invasive apergillosis (see also Monod sign).
Anteater's nose sign 
Sign of calcaneonavicular tarsal coalition.
Apple Core lesion 
Circumferential narrowing of the lumen secondary to colon cancer.

[edit] B

Ball on tee sign 
Sign of papillary necrosis on IVU.
Banana sign 
Seen on antenatal US and refers to a banana-shaped configuration of the cerebellum. Associated with neural tube defects.
Bat wing appearance (chest) 
Classic chest radiography finding for pulmonary edema.
Bat wing appearance (neuro) 
Appearance of 4th ventricle that may be seen with Joubert syndrome.
Bergman's coiled catheter sign 
Sign of ureteral transitional cell carcinoma when a catheter coils in region of neoplasm (see also Goblet sign).
Bird's beak 
Narrowing of the esophagus in achalasia.
Bird's beak sign or bird of prey sign
Narrowing of the colon in cecal volvulus.
Blade of grass 
Paget disease.
Bone in bone sign 
Appearance of spine that may be seen osteopetrosis.
Boot-shaped Heart 
Appearance of heart that may be seen with tetralogy of Fallot.
Boxcar ventricles 
Appearance of frontal horns that may be seen in Huntington's disease.
Breast in a breast 
Term used to describe Fibroadenolipomas.
Bulging fissure sign 
Bulging of a pulmonary fissure. Most commonly associated with Klebsiella pneumonia.
Bullet carpal bones 
Appearance of carpal bones that may be seen with mucopolysaccharidoses.
Butterfly vertebrae 
Results from failure of fusion of the lateral halves of the vertebral body because of persistent notochondal tissue between them.

[edit] C

C sign 
Sign of talocalcaneal tarsal coalition.
Cake kidney 
All renal tissue is fused into one pelvic mass and gives rise to two separate ureters which enter the bladder in normal relationship.
Canoe paddle ribs
 :Appearance of ribs that may be seen with mucopolysaccharidoses.
Celery stalking 
Irregular appearance of metaphyses in patients with rubella. Also used to describe metaphyses in patients with osteopathia striata.
Central dot sign 
Sign of Caroli's disease.
Champagne sign 
Specific but not commonly seen ultrasound finding for emphysematous cholecystitis.
Cloverleaf skull 
Appreance of the skull that may be seen with thanatophoric dysplasia.
Cluster of grapes 
Appearance that may be seen with pneumatosis cystoides coli.
Cobra head sign 
Dilatation of the distal ureter which may be seen in patients with ureteroceles.
Coffee bean sign 
Sigmoid volvulus.
Collar sign 
Sign of diaphragmatic rupture.
Comet sign 
Sign to differential a phlebolith from a ureteral stone. Calcified phlebolith represents the comet nucleus and the adjacent, tapering, noncalcified portion of the vein is the comet tail (also see soft-tissue rim sign).
Comet tail sign 
Produced by the distortion of vessels and bronchi that lead to an adjacent area of round atelectasis.
Cord sign
Sign of intracranial dural sinus thrombosis.
Corkscrew collaterals 
Appearance of collaterals that may be seen in patients with Buerger disease.
Corkscrew sign 
Upper GI series sign of midgut volvulus.
Corduroy appearance 
Appearance of thickening trabeculations seen in intraosseous hemangiomas of the spine. See also polka-dot pattern.
Crazy-paving sign 
Nonspecific appearance consisting of linear network or reticular pattern with areas of ground-glass opacification. Classically associated with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
Crossover sign 
Anterior acetabular rim is projected laterally relative to the same point of the posterior rim in the superolateral aspect of the acetabulum. See with pincer type femoroacetabular impingement.
Cyclops lesion 
May occur status post anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

[edit] D

David Letterman sign 
:Sign of scapholunate ligament disruption (also see Terry Thomas sign).
Dense vessel sign 
Sign of cerebrovascular accident that represent thrombus in the middle cerebral artery.
Dependent viscera sign 
Sign of diaphragmatic rupture (viscera falls to a dependent position).
Dot and dash pattern 
Sacral insufficiency fracture.
Double bleb sign
Appearance of amnion and yolk sac at 5-6 weeks. Embryo lies between amnion and yolk sac
Double bubble sign 
Sign of duodenal atresia and other forms of duodenal obstruction.
Double decidua sign 
Sign of early normal intrauterine gestation.
Double density sign (cardiac) 
Sign of left atrial enlargement when right side of the left atrium pushes into the adjacent lung.
Double density sign (Nucs) 
Pattern of uptake that may be seen on bone scans in patients with osteoid osteomas.
Double duct sign 
Simultaneous dilatation of the common bile and pancreatic ducts that is generally caused by a tumor in the pancreatic head.
Double PCL sign 
MRI sign of a bucket-handle meniscal tear.
Double track sign 
:Appearance of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that may be seen on upper GI series.
Draped aorta sign 
Sign of contained rupture of an abdominal aoric aneurysm.
Drooping lily sign 
Inferolateral displacement of the opacified lower pole moiety in a duplex kidney from an obstructed (unopacified) upper pole moeity.

[edit] E

Egg on a string 
Appearance of the heart that may be seen with transposition of great arteries.
Empty delta sign 
Sign of intracranial dural sinus thrombosis.
Epicardial fat pad sign 
Sign of a pericardial effusion.
Eye of the tiger sign 
low signal intensity circumscribing the globus pallidus in patients with Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome.

[edit] F

Faceless kidney 
Appearance of kidney secondary to any process that obliterates renal sinus (i.e. lymphoma, transitional cell carcinoma).
Fallen fragment sign 
Sign of a pathologic fracture seen with unicameral bone cysts.
Feeding vessel sign 
Sign of pulmonary septic emboli.
Flame shaped (Breast)
Gynecomastia.
Flame shaped (MSK)
Paget disease.
Fat halo sign 
Seen in various diseases of the bowel in which fatty infiltration of the submucosa is present.
Fat ring sign 
Preservation of the perivascular fat around the mesenteric vessels that may be seen with mesenteric panniculitis.
Flat tire sign 
Sign of a ruptured globe.
Flat waist sign 
Appearance of left heart border that may be seen with left lower lobe atelectasis.
Figure 3 sign 
Appearance of the aorta that may be seen in patients with coarctation of the aorta.
Figure of eight 
Appearance of the brain in pachygyria.
Finger in glove sign 
Sign of mucous plugging seen with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.
Fish vertebrae. 
Description of shape of vertebral bodies that may be seen in patients with sickle cell disease. See also: H-shaped vertebral bodies.
Football sign 
Sign of pneumoperitoneum seen on supine radiographs.

[edit] G

Gastrointestinal string sign
Sign of Crohn disease.
Goblet sign 
Sign of ureteral transitional cell carcinoma that may be seen on retrograde or intravenous urography (see also Bergman's coiled catheter sign).
Gull wing appearance 
Appearance of erosions that may occur in patients with erosive osteoarthritis.

[edit] H

H-shaped vertebral bodies 
Shape of vertebral bodies that may be seen in patients with sickle cell disease. See also: Fish vertebrae.
Halo sign 
Ground-glass attenuation surrounding a pulmonary nodule or mass on CT images. Represents hemorrhage and is highly suggestive of Aspergillus.
Hampton's hump 
Triangular opacity secondary to infarction in the periphery of the lung distal to a pulmonary embolism.
Head cheese sign 
Sign of subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Hidebound sign 
On small bowel series, crowding of folds in dilated loops of small bowel may be seen in patients with scleroderma.
High-attenuating crescent sign 
Sign of impending abdominal aoric aneurysm rupture.
Hole within a hole 
Appearance that may be seen when eosinophilic granuloma involves the skull.
Holly leaf appearance 
Chest radiograph finding that may be seen with asbestos pleural plaques.
Honda sign 
Sacral insufficiency fracture.
Hot cross bun sign 
May be seen on axial T2 weighted images of the pons in multiple system atrophy.
Hot nose sign 
Sign that may be observed on brain flow scans in patients with brain death.
Hourglass appearance 
MRI appearance that may be seen with concentric cystic adventitial disease.

[edit] I

Interstitial line sign
Sign that may be seen with an interstitial ectopic pregnancy.
Inverted Napoleon's hat sign 
Sign of severe spondylolisthesis at the lumbosacral junction.
Ivory vertebra sign 
Increase in opacity of a vertebral body that retains its size and contours, with no change in the opacity and size of adjacent intervertebral disks.

[edit] J

Juxtaphrenic peak sign 
Tenting of the diaphragm that may be seen with right upper lobe atelectasis.

[edit] K

Keyhole sign 
US appearance that may be seen with posterior urethral valves.

[edit] L

Lace like 
Pattern that may be seen with sarcoid arthropathy.
Lace-like pattern 
Ultrasound appearance of hemorrhagic ovarian cysts.
Lacunar skull 
Appearance of skull that may be seen in infants with Chiari II malformation.
Lambda sign
On a Gallium-67 citrate scan, uptake in the hilar and paratracheal lymph nodes gives the appearance of a lambda. This is seen in sarcoidosis.
Lead pipe 
Narrowing of colon with loss of haustra that may be seen in patients with ulcerative colitis.
Linguine sign 
MRI sign that may be seen in patients with intracapsular breast implant rupture.
Lobster claw sign 
Sign of papillary necrosis on IVU.
Lollipop 
Appearance of diverticula that may been seen on HSG in patients with adenomyosis.
Luftsichel sign 
"Air cresent". Sign that may be seen with left upper lobe atelectasis.

[edit] M

Mark Morton sign 
Throckmorton's sign with a small penis.
Mercedes Benz sign 
Appearance of gas within gallstones.
Moulage sign 
Effaced loop of bowel that may be seen on a small bowel series in sprue.
Molar tooth sign (GU)
Perivesicular extravasation of contrast on CT cystogram in a patient with extraperitoneal bladder rupture.
Molar tooth sign (Neuro)
Enlarged and horizontally directed tubular structure on each side of the midline emerging from the midbrain in patients with Joubert syndrome.
Monod sign 
Air surrounding an aspergilloma (Also see air crescent sign).
Mount Fuji sign 
CT sign of tension pneumocephalus.

[edit] N

Naclerio's V sign
V shaped lucency that may be seen over the left lower mediastinium in pneumomediastinum.
Nipple sign 
Appearance of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that may be seen on ultrasound.
Nubbin sign 
Reflux nephropathy involving the lower pole of a duplicated collecting system.
Nutmeg liver 
Pattern of liver enhancement seen with passive congestion.

[edit] O

Onion ring appearance 
US appearance that may be seen with a testicular epidermoid cyst.

[edit] P

Paintbrush appearance 
Linear striations of contrast material opacifing collecting tubules that may be seen with medullary sponge kidney.
Panda sign 
On a Gallium-67 citrate scan, uptake in the lacrimal and salivary glands gives the appearance of a panda. This is suggestive of sarcoidosis.
Parallel track sign 
Pattern of uptake that may be seen on bone scan in patients with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.
Pear-shaped bladder 
Bladder assumes the shape of a pear when it undergoes extrinsic compression due to excess tissue in the pelvis.
Pearl necklace sign 
MRI sign that may be seen with adenomyomatosis.
Pencil in cup deformity 
Erosion pattern of digits that may be seen in patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Picture frame vertebral body 
Thicken cortex of vertebral bodies that may be seen in patients with Paget disease.
Picket fence 
Appearance of bowel that may be seen on small bowel series with Whipple disease or gastrointestinal amyloidosis.
Pistol grip deformity 
Appearance of the proximal femur that may be seen with cam type femoroacetabular impingement.
Playboy bunny sign 
US sign of the appearance of the confluence of the hepatic veins with the IVC.
Polka-dot pattern 
Appearance of thickening trabeculations seen in intraosseous hemangiomas of the spine. See also Corduroy appearance.
Porcelain gallbladder 
Calcification of the gallbladder wall.
Putty kidney 
Appearance that may be seen with end-stage renal tuberculosis.

[edit] R

Reversal sign 
CT sign of anoxic brain injury where gray matter is lower in attenuation that white matter (the opposite is normal).
Reversed halo sign 
Relatively specific sign of pulmonary nodules in cryptogenic organizing pneumonia.
Ribbon bowel 
Appearance of bowel that may be seen on barium studies in graft versus host disease.
Ribbon ribs 
Appearance of ribs that may be seen with neurofibromatosis 1.
Rice kernel
CT appearance that may be seen with dacryolithiasis.
Rigler's sign 
Sign of pneumoperitoneum where both sides of a loop of bowel are outlined by air.
Rim sign 
On cholescintigraphy, increased uptake is seen in the region of the gallbladder fossa. Sign is specific for acute cholecystitis.
Ring of fire sign
US finding. Hypervascular ring in the adnexa that may be seen with either ectopic pregnancy or corpus luteum.
Ring sign 
CT sign of epiploic appendagitis.
Rosary sign 
CT sign that may be seen with adenomyomatosis.
Rugger jersey spine sign 
Appearance of spine that may be seen with hyperparathyroidism.

[edit] S

S sign of Golden 
Right upper lobe atelectasis created by a central mass. Should raise the suspicion of a central neoplasm.
Saber-sheath trachea 
Appearance of trachea that may be seen with COPD.
Saber shin 
Appearance of tibia that may be seen with syphilis.
Sandstorm appearance 
Appearance of lungs that may be seen in pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis.
Salt and pepper pattern 
Flow voids seen in glomus tumors.
Salt and pepper skull 
Appearance of skull that may be seen in patients with hyperparathyroidism.
Sandwich sign 
Bulky lymphoma encasing mesenteric vessels.
Sandwich vertebra 
Sclerotic endplates that may be seen with osteopetrosis.
Sausage digit 
Soft tissue swelling of digits in patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Scimitar sign 
MRI appearance that may be seen with eccentric cystic adventitial disease.
Scottie dog 
On oblique radiographs, the posterior elements form the appearance of a Scottie dog. Spondylolysis can have the appearance of a collar around the neck.
Shepard's crook deformity 
Appearance of proximal femur that may be seen with fibrous dyplasia.
Shoulder sign 
:Appearance of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that may be seen on upper GI series.
Signet ring sign (Chest) 
Sign of bronchiectasis.
Signet ring sign (GU) 
Sign of papillary necrosis on IVU.
Small heart sign 
Sign of tension pneumopericardium.
Snowman 
Appearance of heart that may be seen with supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return.
Snowstorm pattern (breast) 
US pattern for breast implant rupture.
Snowstorm pattern (Ob/gyn) 
US pattern for a molar pregnancy.
Soft-tissue rim sign 
Appearance of a ureteral edema surrounding a calculus. Helps differentiates a calculus from a phlebolith (also see comet sign).
Spade shape 
Shape of tufts that may be seen with acromegaly.
Spalding sign 
Overlapping cranial sutures. Sign of fatal demise on prenatal ultrasound.
Spider web 
Appearnace of collateral vessels that may be seen on hepatic venography in Budd-Chiari syndrome.
Spinnaker sail sign 
Elevation of the thymus by air that may be seen with pneumomediastinum.
Spinning top urethra
Split pleura sign 
CT sign of thoracic empyema.
Spoke wheel enhancement pattern (GU)
May be seen with oncocytomas
Spoke wheel enhancement pattern (GI) 
May be seen with focal nodular hyperplasia.
Spokewheel sign (GI) 
Pattern of mesentery that may be seen with small bowel volvulus.
Starry sky 
US appearance that may be seen with hepatitis.
Steeple sign 
Appearance of narrowing of the subglottic tracheal lumen that may be seen with croup.
Stepladder sign 
US sign that may be seen in patients with intracapsular breast implant rupture.
Straight line sign 
PET sign of peritoneal carcinomatosis.
Strawberry skull 
Appearance of skull that may be seen on fetal US with Trisomy 18.
String of beads 
Appearnace of multiple stenosis that may be seen in patients with fibromuscular dysplasia.
String sign 
Appearance of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that may be seen on upper GI series.
Stripe sign
On a V/Q scan, subpleural activity in a region of decreased pulmonary perfusion. Sign is used to rule out pulmonary embolism.
Superior triangle sign 
Sign that may be seen with right lower lobe atelectasis.

[edit] T

Talar beak 
:Sign of talocalcaneal tarsal coalition.
Tau sign 
MRI sign of a persistent trigeminal artery.
Telephone receiver shaped femora
Appearance of femora that can be seen with thanatophoric dysplasia.
Terry Thomas sign 
Sign of scapholunate ligament disruption (also see David Letterman sign).
Throckmorton's sign 
The penis points to the pathology.
Thumb sign 
Classic lateral radiographic finding for epiglotitis.
Thumbprinting 
Sign of bowel wall thickening seen with entities such as ischemic bowel, diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
Tip of the iceberg sign 
Ultrasound sign that may be seen with mature cystic teratomas.
Tit sign 
:Appearance of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that may be seen on upper GI series.
Tram-track sign (chest) 
Sign of bronchiectasis.
Tram-track sign (neuro)
Sign of optic nerve meningioma.
Tram-track sign (neuro) 
Appearance of cortical calcifications that may be seen with Sturge-Weber syndrome.
Tram-track sign (nucs) 
Bone scan finding that may be seen with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.
Tree in bud 
Nonspecific pulmonary pattern seen on thin-section computed tomography.
Trident hand 
Appearance of hands that may be seen with achondroplasia.
Trough line sign 
In posterior shoulder dislocation, frontal radiographs reveal two nearly parallel lines in the superomedial aspect of the humeral head.

[edit] U

Umbrella sign 
Sign of a ruptured globe.

[edit] W

Wall-echo-shadow sign 
Sign of cholelithiasis on US when the gallbladder is filled with calculi.
Waterlily sign 
Sign of hydatid cyst.
Watering can perineum 
Sign of fisula formation secondary to periurethral abscess.
Wave sign 
Sign produced by lateral indentation of thymus by adjacent anterior ribs. This sign in seen in the pediatric population and represents a normal thymus.
Whirlpool Sign 
US sign of midgut volvulus in a neonate.
Wimberger's ring sign 
A circular, opaque radiologic shadow surroundsing epiphyseal centers of ossification in patients with scurvy.
Wimberger's sign 
Symmetrical lesions seen in the proximal tibial medial metaphysis in patient's with syphilis.
Westermark's sign 
Regional pulmonary oligemia secondary to pulmonary embolism.

[edit] Y

Yin-yang sign 
Swirling blood flow pattern within a pseudoaneurysm.
Yo-yo on a string sign 
MRI appearance of a Stener lesion (see Gamekeeper thumb)

[edit] References

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