Radiology signs
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Format of Signs
- Please stay close to the given format:
;[[Name of sign]] :Short description of sign
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
J
- Juxtaphrenic peak sign
- Tenting of the diaphragm that may be seen with right upper lobe atelectasis.
K
- Keyhole sign
- US appearance that may be seen with posterior urethral valves.
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.
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.
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.
O
- Onion ring appearance
- US appearance that may be seen with a testicular epidermoid cyst.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
U
- Umbrella sign
- Sign of a ruptured globe.
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.
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)