Blumberg sign

(noun)

Blumberg's sign is a sign that is elicited during physical examination in medicine and is indicative of peritonitis. A positive sign shows rebound tenderness, meaning that pressing a hand on the abdomen elicits less pain than releasing the hand abruptly, which will aggravate the pain, as the peritoneum snaps back into place.

Related Terms

Examples of Blumberg sign in the following topics:

  • Peritonitis

    • The main manifestations of peritonitis are acute abdominal pain, abdominal tenderness, and abdominal guarding, which are exacerbated by moving the peritoneum by coughing, flexing one's hips, or eliciting the Blumberg sign.

  • Introduction to Blood Pressure

    • Blood pressure is a vital sign reflecting the pressure exerted on blood vessels when blood is forced out of the heart during contraction.
    • Blood pressure is one of the principal vital signs.
    • Blood pressure and pulse, or the vital signs, are measured as indicators of several aspects of cardiovascular health.

  • Anatomical Changes

    • Most pregnant women do not have any specific signs or symptoms after implantation, although it is not uncommon to experience minimal bleeding.
    • A number of early medical signs are associated with pregnancy.
    • These signs typically appear, if at all, within the first few weeks after conception.
    • Not all of these signs are universally present, nor are all of them diagnostic by themselves; taken together, however, they may make a presumptive diagnosis of pregnancy.
    • Despite all the signs, some women may not realize they are pregnant until they are far along in pregnancy.

  • Signs and Symptoms of Shock

    • Differentiate among the types of shock and the signs and symptoms associated with each

  • Heart Failure

    • Common respiratory signs include tachypnea (increased rate of breathing) and increased work of breathing (non-specific signs of respiratory distress).
    • Cyanosis, which suggests severe hypoxemia, is a late sign of extremely severe pulmonary edema.
    • Additional signs indicating left ventricular failure include a laterally displaced apex beat (which occurs if the heart is enlarged) and a gallop rhythm (additional heart sounds) may be heard as a marker of increased blood flow, or increased intra-cardiac pressure.

  • Skin Cancer

    • Warning signs of malignant melanoma include change in the size, shape, color, or elevation of a mole.
    • Other signs are the appearance of a new mole during adulthood or new pain, itching, ulceration, or bleeding.

  • Types of Shock

    • The typical signs of shock are low blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat, and signs of poor end-organ perfusion or decompensation (such as low urine output, confusion, or loss of consciousness).
    • While the general signs for all types of shock are low blood pressure, decreased urine output, and confusion, these may not always be present.

  • Pericarditis

    • Other physical signs include a patient in distress, positional chest pain, diaphoresis (excessive sweating), and possibility of heart failure in form of precardial tamponade causing pulsus paradoxus, and the Beck's triad of hypotension (due to decreased cardiac output), distant (muffled) heart sounds, and JVD (jugular vein distention).
    • This can be seen in patients who are experiencing the classic signs of pericarditis but then show signs of relief, and progress to show signs of cardiac tamponade which include decreased alertness and lethargy, pulsus paradoxus (decrease of at least 10 mmHg of the systolic blood pressure upon inspiration), hypotension (due to decreased cardiac index), JVD (jugular vein distention from right sided heart failure and fluid overload), distant heart sounds on auscultation, and equilibration of all the diastolic blood pressures on cardiac catheterization due to the constriction of the pericardium by the fluid.

  • Osteomalacia and Rickets

    • Early signs include swollen wrists and difficulty walking.
    • Osteomalacia may show signs as diffuse body pains, muscle weakness, and fragility of the bones.
    • Physical signs include deformities like triradiate pelvis and lordosis.
    • However, those physical signs may derive from a previous osteomalacial state, since bones do not regain their original shape after they become deformed.

  • Menopause

    • However, for some women, the accompanying signs and effects that can occur during the menopause transition years can significantly disrupt their daily activities and sense of well-being.
    • However, there are many signs and effects that lead up to this point, many of which may extend well beyond it too.
    • The only sign or effect that all women universally have in common is that by the end of the menopause transition every woman will have a complete cessation of menses.
    • Signs and effects of the menopause transition can begin as early as age 35, although most women become aware of the transition in their mid to late 40's, often many years after the actual beginning of the perimenopausal window.