Kernig's sign
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Original description of Kernig's sign in 1882: During the examination, the patient was seated upright with hips and knees flexed. Kernig would then attempt to extend the patient’s knee. He noted that, in patients with meningitis, he was unable to extend the knee beyond 135 degrees without causing pain. [1]
Today, the maneuver is usually performed with the patient supine with hips and knees in flexion. Extension of the knees is attempted: the inability to extend the patient’s knees beyond 135 degrees without causing pain constitutes a positive test for Kernig’s sign. [1]
References
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
