- Cullen's sign
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Cullen's sign 
Cullen's signDiseasesDB 17313 Cullen's sign is superficial edema and bruising in the subcutaneous fatty tissue around the umbilicus.
It is named for Thomas S. Cullen (1869-1953),[1] an obstetrician who first described the sign in ruptured ectopic pregnancy in 1916.[2]
This sign takes 24-48 hours to appear and can predict acute pancreatitis, with mortality rising from 8-10% to 40%. It may be accompanied by Grey Turner's sign[3] (bruising of the flank), which may then be indicative of pancreatic necrosis with retroperitoneal or intraabdominal bleeding.
Causes
Causes include:
- acute pancreatitis, where methemalbumin formed from digested blood tracks around the abdomen from the inflamed pancreas
- bleeding from blunt abdominal trauma
- bleeding from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
- bleeding from ruptured ectopic pregnancy
Importance of the sign is on a decline since better diagnostic modalities are now available
References
- ^ synd/1386 at Who Named It?
- ^ T. S. Cullen. Embryology, anatomy, and diseases of the umbilicus together with diseases of the urachus. Philadelphia, Saunders, and London, 1916.
- ^ Bosmann M, Schreiner O, Galle PR (April 2009). "Coexistence of Cullen's and Grey Turner's signs in acute pancreatitis". Am. J. Med. 122 (4): 333–4. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.08.032. PMID 19332225. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0002-9343(08)01059-0.
External links
Eponymous medical signs for digestive system and abdomen Digestive system Goodsall's rule · Chilaiditi syndrome · intussusception: Dance's sign
appendicitis: Aaron's sign/McBurney's point · Rovsing's sign · Markle sign · Rosenstein's sign
Hampton's lineliver: Councilman body · Mallory body
biliary: Boas' sign · Courvoisier's law · Charcot's cholangitis triad/Reynolds' pentad · cholecystitis (Murphy's sign · Lépine's sign) · Nardi testAbdominopelvic Howship-Romberg sign · Hannington-Kiff signOtherAbdominal · general spleen/LUQ: Ballance's sign · Traube's sign · Castell's sign
hemorrhage: Cullen's sign · Grey Turner's signGeneral wounds and injuries (T08-T35, 870-949) General Wound/
traumaBlister (Blood blister • Coma blister • Delayed blister • Edema blister • Fracture blister • Friction blister • Sucking blister)
Bruise/Hematoma/Ecchymosis (Battle's sign, Raccoon eyes, Black eye, Subungual hematoma, Cullen's sign, Grey Turner's sign, Retroperitoneal hemorrhage)
Animal bite: Insect bite · Spider biteAnimal bite: Snakebite · Lizard bite
Ballistic traumaForeign body In alimentary tract (Bezoar)Other By region Categories:- Medical signs
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