- Traube's space
Infobox Anatomy
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Caption = Surface lines of the front of the thorax and abdomen. (Traube's space not labeled, but is in hypochondriac region.)
Caption2 = Spleen
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DorlandsPre = s_16
DorlandsSuf = 12745893Traube's (semilunar) space is an anatomic region of some clinical importance. It's a crescent-shaped space, encompassed by the lower edge of the
left lung , the anterior border of thespleen , the left costal margin and the inferior margin of theleft lobe of theliver . Thus, its surface markings are respectively the left sixthrib , the left midaxillary line, and the left costal margin.Percussion for splenomegaly
The normal human spleen measures about 125 millimeters in length, and
splenomegaly is an important clinical sign. There are 2 possibilities to evaluate splenomegaly in the clinical examination: percussion and palpation.cite journal |author=Dubey S, Swaroop A, Jain R, Verma K, Garg P, Agarwal S |title=Percussion of Traube's space--a useful index of splenic enlargement |journal=The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=326–8 |year=2000 |pmid=11229121 |doi=] Percussion can be done in this space.Underneath Traube's space lies the
stomach , which produces a tympanic sound on percussion. If percussion over Traube's space produces a dull tone, this might indicatesplenomegaly (but can also occur after a meal). Assessing this may be more difficult in obese patients.In 1993, a
systematic review by the [http://www.sgim.org/clinexam-rce.cfm Rational Clinical Examination] found that percussion over Traube's space yieldscite journal |author=Grover SA, Barkun AN, Sackett DL |title=The rational clinical examination. Does this patient have splenomegaly? |journal=JAMA |volume=270 |issue=18 |pages=2218–21 |year=1993 |pmid=8411607 |doi= [http://gateway.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=linkout&SEARCH=8411607.ui Ovid full text] ] :
* sensitivity = 62%
* specificity = 72%Specificity may be higher if the patient has not eaten in the last two hours.
Eponym
It is named for Ludwig Traube, although it was first described by his pupil in 1868. [WhoNamedIt|synd|3182] Another method was described by Donald O. Castell in 1967 (
Castell's sign ).References
ee also
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Abdominal examination External links
* [http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/medicine/pulmonar/apd/spaces.htm Image] at luc.edu
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