65 - Prehn's sign

- Prehn's sign is a medical diagnostic indicator that helps determine whether the presenting injured testicle is caused by acute epididymitis or from testicular torsion.

- According to Prehn's sign, the physical lifting of the testicles relieves the pain of epididymitis but not pain caused by testicular torsion.

* Negative Prehn's sign indicates no pain relief with lifting the affected testicle, which points towards testicular torsion which is a medical emergency and must be relieved within 6 hours.

* Positive Prehn's sign indicates there is pain relief with lifting the affected testicle, which points towards epididymitis.

1: Epididymis
2: Head of epididymis
3: Lobules of epididymis
4: Body of epididymis
5: Tail of epididymis
6: Duct of epididymis
7: Deferent duct (ductus deferens or vas deferens)
EPONYMS IN MEDICINE, 1994 DESK DIARY

eponyms in medicine - part 14

131 - Prehn's sign is elevation of painful testicle decreases pain of epididymitis.

132 - Ramirez sign is in deep vein thrombosis - sphygmomanometer cuff placed above knee inflated to 40 mm Hg causing pain at site of thrombosis.

133 - second disease is scarlet fever - aka scarlatina - caused by Strep pyogenes exotoxin - first described in 1626.

134 - Burkitt lymphoma is tumor manifesting at extranodal sites; associated with translocation of c-myc gene on chr 8 with IgH locus (chr 14) - kappa (chr 2) - or lambda light-chain (chr 22) locus; associated with EBV infection in African variety.

135 - Gordon’s maneuver is extensor plant response by squeezing the calf muscle suggesting upper motor neuron defect.

136 - Jones’s fracture is fracture at the base of the fifth metatarsal diaphysis.

137 - Hughes-Stovin syndrome is multiple pulmonary artery aneurysms with peripheral venous thrombosis.

138 - Siegrist streaks is linear hyperpigmented areas over choroidal vessels in hypertensive retinopathy.

139 - Blomstrand dysplasia is rare lethal disorder characterized by an increase in bone density and advanced skeletal maturationfrom inactivating mutation in PTHR-1 gene (also Jansen metaphyseal chondrodysplasia where there is an activating mutation).

140 - MELAS is mitochondrial encephalopathy with acidosis and stroke - onset in childhood - stroke-like episodes with hemiparesis - hemianopia - or cortical blindness; full expression of the disease leads to death often before age 20; 80-90% have point mutation in leucine tRNA in mtDNA.