Disease and conditions 

Harlequin sign: Temporary reddening of one half of a neonate’s body, especially in low-birth-weight infants, typically appearing when the infant is placed on its side and disappearing when supine. It is a benign, transient vascular phenomenon.

Hamman’s sign is a loud, crunching sound over the precordium synchronous with the heartbeat, indicating mediastinal emphysema from conditions like pneumothorax or tracheobronchial rupture. Detected by auscultation with the patient in a left lateral recumbent position.

Hallucination is a perception without an external stimulus, occurring while awake. It can affect any sense auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile, or gustatory—and is seen in psychiatric, neurologic, or toxic conditions.

Guilland’s sign is a quick, forceful flexion of the hip and knee when the opposite quadriceps is pinched, indicating meningeal irritation.

Griffith’s sign is a lagging of the lower eyelids during upward gaze, commonly seen in thyrotoxicosis. To detect it, have the patient follow a steadily rising object; if the lower eyelid fails to move smoothly with the eye, the sign is present.

Grief is a deep sorrow or anguish experienced after loss, separation, or bereavement. In terminal illness, it may precede acceptance of dying; unlike depression, grief usually progresses through stages and resolves over time.

Grasset’s phenomenon is an inability to raise both legs simultaneously, though each leg can be raised individually. In adults, it indicates complete organic hemiplegia due to an upper motor neuron lesion; in infants, it is a normal finding until 5–7 months of age.

Grasp reflex: Reflexive flexion of the fingers when the palm is touched and of the toes when the sole is touched. Normally present in infants from 26–28 weeks’ gestation; absence, weakness, or asymmetry may indicate CNS injury or depression. In adults, it is abnormal and suggests premotor cortex dysfunction.

Gowers’ sign: In adults, irregular iris contraction in response to light, seen in tabes dorsalis; in children, a maneuver of using hands on thighs to rise from the floor, indicating proximal muscle weakness in Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy.

Goldthwait’s sign: Pain elicited during leg raising or pressure maneuvers to distinguish sacroiliac joint irritation from lumbosacral pathology. Pain during leg raising suggests sacroiliac joint involvement; pain only with lumbar pressure suggests lumbosacral origin.

Glabella tap reflex is a persistent blinking when the glabella (area between the eyebrows) is lightly tapped repeatedly. A positive reflex is seen in Parkinson’s disease, presenile dementia, and frontal lobe lesions.

Gifford’s sign is a resistance to eversion of the upper eyelid, often observed in thyrotoxicosis. To detect, attempt to lift and evert the eyelid over a blunt instrument; resistance indicates a positive sign.

Galeazzi’s sign is unequal knee heights when an infant’s hips and knees are flexed to 90° while supine. A lower knee on one side indicates femoral shortening, commonly due to congenital hip dislocation.

Galant’s reflex: Lateral stroking of a neonate’s back elicits pelvis movement toward the stimulated side; normally present at birth and disappears by 2 months. Absence or asymmetry may indicate a spinal cord lesion (T1–S1).

Fränkel’s sign is an excessive passive hip joint motion observed in tabes dorsalis, caused by reduced muscle tone around the joint.

Foot malposition, congenital is an abnormal positioning of the foot present at birth, affecting ~0.4% of neonates. It may result from fetal positioning, neuromuscular disorders, or joint/connective tissue malformations.

Flight of ideas refers to a continuous, pressured speech with rapid topic changes, where connections are based on word sounds or similarities. It is characteristic of the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

Flexor withdrawal reflex is a neonatal reflex in which the knee flexes upon stimulation of the sole of the foot; normal up to 6 months of age, mediated at the spinal cord level. Persistence beyond 6 months may indicate CNS injury or anoxic brain damage.

Fan sign is a component of Babinski’s reflex, characterized by the spreading of the toes after firm stroking of the sole, indicating corticospinal tract dysfunction.

Fajersztajn’s crossed sciatic sign: In sciatica, pain occurs on the affected side when the opposite leg is lifted. To elicit it, place the patient supine, extend the knee of the unaffected leg, and flex the hip; pain on the symptomatic side confirms a positive sign.

Fabere sign is a pain elicited during Patrick’s test (Flexion, ABduction, External Rotation, and Extension) indicates hip arthritis. The maneuver involves placing the patient supine, flexing the thigh and knee, externally rotating the leg, and depressing the knee; pain confirms a positive sign.

Extrapyramidal signs and symptoms are movement and posture disturbances caused by basal ganglia or cerebellar disorders, including asynergy, ataxia, athetosis, blepharoclonus, chorea, dysarthria, dysdiadochokinesia, dystonia, muscle rigidity, spasticity, myoclonus, spasmodic torticollis, and tremors. These signs reflect dysfunction in motor control pathways outside the pyramidal tracts.

Extinction in neurology, it is the inability to perceive one of two simultaneously presented stimuli, detected by stimulating corresponding areas on both sides of the body; failure to perceive one indicates extinction. In neurophysiology, it refers to loss of excitability of a nerve or synapse, and in psychology, the disappearance of a conditioned reflex due to lack of reinforcement.

Extensor thrust reflex is a primitive reflex in neonates where leg extension follows sole stimulation, mediated at the spinal cord level. Normally disappears by 6 months; persistence beyond this age suggests anoxic brain damage, and its reappearance in older children indicates central nervous system injury.

Ewart’s sign is a clinical finding in pericardial effusion, characterized by bronchial breathing on auscultation and dullness to percussion below the angle of the left scapula. These are compression signs caused by the enlarged pericardial sac pressing on adjacent lung tissue. The sign may also be noted beneath the prominence of the sternal end of the first rib in some effusion cases.

Euphoria is an intense feeling of happiness or well-being. When it occurs without appropriate cause, such as meaningful achievements or profound experiences, it may be pathological. Euphoria can be seen in bipolar disorder, organic brain disease, or as a result of substance use (e.g., heroin, cocaine, amphetamines).

Escherich’s sign is a contraction of the lips, tongue, and masseters elicited by percussion of the inner surface of the lips or tongue; commonly observed in tetany.

Erb’s sign is an increased irritability of motor nerves in tetany, detected by electromyography; also refers to dullness on percussion over the manubrium in acromegaly.

Erben’s reflex is a slowing of the pulse observed when the head and trunk are forcibly bent forward, indicating increased vagal excitability.

Epicanthal folds are vertical skin folds that partially or completely cover the inner corner (canthus) of the eye, giving the eyes a “crossed” appearance. They are normal in many young children and Asian populations but may indicate Down syndrome when combined with oblique palpebral fissures in non-Asian children.

Entropion is an inward turning (inversion) of the eyelid, usually the lower lid, causing eyelashes to rub against and irritate the cornea. It may result from aging, trauma, muscle spasm, ocular cicatricial diseases, or infections like trachoma.

Ectropion is an outward turning (eversion) of the eyelid, often affecting the lower lid, which can cause exposure of the conjunctiva, impaired tear drainage, and excessive tearing. It may result from aging, facial nerve paralysis, or trauma.

Echopraxia is an involuntary repetition of another person’s movements without understanding, commonly observed in catatonic schizophrenia and some neurologic disorders.

Echolalia is a repetition of another person’s words or phrases without comprehension in adults, commonly seen in schizophrenia and frontal lobe disorders; in children, it may appear as imitation of sounds or words produced by others.

Dysphonia is a hoarseness or difficulty producing voice sounds, which may result from laryngeal disorders, vocal cord overuse or spasm, laryngeal nerve injury, or central nervous system conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Pubertal voice changes are specifically termed dysphonia puberum.

Dysdiadochokinesia is a difficulty in performing rapidly alternating movements, such as pronation and supination of the hands or tapping the foot. It reflects an impaired ability to stop one movement and initiate another. This sign commonly occurs in cerebellar disorders and may also be seen in basal ganglia dysfunction.

Duroziez’s sign is a double murmur heard over a large peripheral artery, typically the femoral artery. On auscultation, proximal compression produces a systolic murmur, while distal compression produces a diastolic murmur. This finding is an indicator of aortic insufficiency and is also called Duroziez’s murmur.

Dugas’ sign is an inability to touch the opposite shoulder and bring the elbow to the chest with the affected arm, indicating shoulder dislocation.

Duchenne’s sign is an inward movement of the epigastrium during inspiration, which may indicate diaphragmatic paralysis or pericardial effusion.

Dorendorf’s sign is a fullness or prominence in the supraclavicular groove, suggestive of an aortic arch aneurysm.