Kernig's signn.
/ˈkəːnɪɡz sʌɪn/, U.S. /ˈkɛrnɪɡz ˌsaɪn/ Medicine.
The inability of a patient to straighten his leg at the knee when lying on his back with the hips fully flexed, an indication of meningitis.
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Kernig's sign1901
1901 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 16 Feb. 396/2 ‘Kernig's sign’ was well marked.
1924 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 20 Dec. 1159/1 The angle at which Kernig's sign begins to be positive is clearly very different for a baby who can suck his own toe and a stocky middle-aged man.
1950 T. R. Harrison Princ. Internal Med. viii. 94/2 If the head cannot be so flexed and Kernig's sign is positive, it is likely that the patient has either meningitis or subarachnoid hemorrhage.
1969 I. J. T. Davies Postgrad. Med. vi. 201 The cardinal signs of inflammation of the meninges are neck stiffness..and Kernig's sign which is spasm of the hamstring muscles when the knee is extended with the hips fully flexed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1901