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Obturator Sign

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Obturator Sign
Illustration of obturator sign[1]
Obturator sign[2]
  • Obturator Sign
  • Cope's obturator test
  • Obturator Test
  • Obturator Internus Test
  • Obturator Internus Sign
  • Pelvic Appendicitis Sign
  • Obturator Muscle Test

Purpose

  • To evaluate for appendicitis as a cause of the patients abdominal pain
  • This test evaluates for appendiceal irritation of the obturator internus

Description

  • The patient is supine
  • Their right leg is flexed at the hip and knee
  • The examiner passively rotates the hip internally/externally
  • Positive test
    • During the maneuver, reproduction of RLQ pain

Pathology

  • Appendicitis

Evidence

Acute Appendicitis

  • Moris et al[3]
    • Sensitivity: 8%
    • Specificity: 94%

See Also

Internal

External

References

  1. ↑ Image courtesy of mededcases.com
  2. ↑ Trescot, Andrea M., and Helen W. Karl. "Obturator nerve entrapment: lower extremity." Peripheral Nerve Entrapments: Clinical Diagnosis and Management. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. 699-712.
  3. ↑ Moris, Dimitrios, Erik Karl Paulson, and Theodore N. Pappas. "Diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults: a review." Jama 326.22 (2021): 2299-2311.
Created by:
John Kiel on 8 May 2025 21:26:21
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Last edited:
16 March 2026 14:07:36
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