Ten Horn'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 ...

used for diagnosing

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

, particularly in older adults.

Method

The patient lies on a couch. The examiner gently stretches the right

spermatic cord The spermatic cord is the cord-like structure in males formed by the vas deferens (''ductus deferens'') and surrounding tissue that runs from the deep inguinal ring down to each testicle. Its serosal covering, the tunica vaginalis, is an extension ...

using the thumb and index finger right about the testis in the right scrotum. For a patient with appendicitis, this causes pain in the right

iliac fossa The iliac fossa is a large, smooth, concave surface on the internal surface of the Ilium (bone), ilium (part of the three fused bones making the hip bone). Structure The iliac fossa is bounded above by the iliac crest, and below by the Arcuate l ...

. The traction of spermatic cord is thought to cause right iliac fossa pain due to the apposition of the gonadal vessels against an inflamed appendix. The sensitivity and specificity of the Ten Horn's sign is unknown.

History

This sign was proposed by Carel Hendrik Leo Herman ten Horn (1884–1964).

References

{{reflist Medical diagnosis Surgical procedures and techniques