Pastia's sign, Pastia lines, or Thompson's sign is a

clinical sign Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...

in which pink or red lines formed of confluent

petechiae A petechia () is a small red or purple spot (≤4 mm in diameter) that can appear on the skin, conjunctiva, retina, and mucous membranes which is caused by haemorrhage of capillaries. The word is derived from Italian , 'freckle,' of obscure origin ...

are found in skin creases, particularly the crease in the antecubital fossa, the soft depression on the inside of the arm; the folding crease divides this fossa where the forearm meets the (upper) arm (the

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...

triceps The triceps, or triceps brachii (Latin for "three-headed muscle of the arm"), is a large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It consists of 3 parts: the medial, lateral, and long head. It is the muscle principally responsibl ...

humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...

section of the upper extremity); the inside of the elbow (the inside flexor depression (fossa) of the

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

. It occurs in patients with

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

prior to the appearance of the rash and persists as pigmented lines after

desquamation Desquamation occurs when the outermost layer of a tissue, such as the skin, is shed. The term is . Physiologic desquamation Keratinocytes are the predominant cells of the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Living keratinocytes reside in ...

. The sign is named after the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n physician Constantin Chessec Pastia (1883–1926).

References

Medical signs {{med-sign-stub