What it means
The client lies on the left side while the examiner extends the right leg backward at the hip, or lies on the back and raises the straight right leg against the examiner's hand. Either stretches the psoas, a deep muscle along the back of the abdomen. Pain suggests an inflamed appendix lying behind the bowel against that muscle, or another abscess near it.
At a glance
| Also written | iliopsoas sign |
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Related terms
appendicitis
Inflammation of the appendix, the small pouch that hangs from the start of the large intestine.
McBurney point
A spot on the lower right abdomen about one-third of the way from the front of the hip bone to the navel.
obturator sign
Pain in the lower abdomen when the client's bent right hip and knee are rotated inward.