Kernig's sign

Kernig's sign
	Positive Kernig's sign in cerebrospinal meningitis
Differential diagnosis	subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis

Kernig's sign (after Waldemar Kernig (1840–1917), a Russian neurologist) is positive when the thigh is flexed at the hip and knee at 90 degree angles, and subsequent extension in the knee is painful (leading to resistance).[1] This may indicate subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis.[2] Patients may also show opisthotonus—spasm of the whole body that leads to legs and head being bent back and body bowed forward.

References

Kernig VM (1882). "Ein Krankheitssymptom der acuten Meningitis". St Petersb Med Wochensch. 7: 398.
O'Connor, Simon; Talley, Nicholas Joseph (2001). Clinical Examination: A Systematic Guide to Physical Diagnosis. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers. p. 363. ISBN 0-632-05971-0.

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[1] Kernig VM (1882). "Ein Krankheitssymptom der acuten Meningitis". St Petersb Med Wochensch. 7: 398.

[2] O'Connor, Simon; Talley, Nicholas Joseph (2001). Clinical Examination: A Systematic Guide to Physical Diagnosis. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers. p. 363. ISBN 0-632-05971-0.