Murphy's sign
Painful breathing test
Murphy's sign is a clinical finding used to diagnose gallbladder inflammation.
The examiner presses beneath the right ribcage while the patient inhales deeply; if pain causes the patient to stop breathing mid-breath, the sign is positive.
Named for American surgeon John Benjamin Murphy: The patient was positive for Murphy's sign, suggesting acute cholecystitis.
- palpationMedical examination by touch
- jaundiceYellowing from bile pigment
- wincingSlight pained recoil
- physical examinationMedical evaluation of body
- guardingActively protecting something
gallstones · inspiratory · tenderness · fever · gallbladder · referred pain · rigidity · physical exam · anorexia · nausea · vomiting · clinical diagnosis · deep · quadrant · abdominal · breath · bedside · exam
diagnostic modality
Murphy's signabdominal ultrasound
Diagnostic imaging of organs
CT scan · MRI · blood test · lipase · amylase