Trousseau's sign


Trousseau's sign

 [troo-sōz´] 1. spontaneous peripheral thrombosis" >venous thrombosis, suggestive of visceral carcinoma, especially carcinoma of the lung or gastrointestinal tract.2. a sign for tetany" >tetany in which carpal spasm can be elicited by compressing the upper arm and causing ischemia to the nerves distally. Trousseau's sign. From Polaski and Tatro, 2000.See illustration.

Trousseau's sign

A sign of latent TETANY. A SPHYGMOMANOMETER cuff is applied to the upper arm and inflated. Within 4 minutes the forearm muscles go into spasm. (Armand Trousseau, 1801–67, French physician).