Froment sign

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Froment sign
Froment's sign.jpg
Positive Froment sign (below)
Differential diagnosis palsy of the ulnar nerve

Froment sign is a special test of the wrist for palsy of the ulnar nerve, specifically, the action of adductor pollicis. [1]

Contents

Process of examination

To perform the test, a patient is asked to hold an object, usually a flat object such as a piece of paper, between the thumb and index finger (pinch grip). The examiner then attempts to pull the object out of the subject's hands. [2]

Eponym

It is named after French neurologist Jules Froment. [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

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In human anatomy, the adductor pollicis muscle is a muscle in the hand that functions to adduct the thumb. It has two heads: transverse and oblique.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Froment</span> French neurologist (1878–1946)

Jules Froment was a French neurologist. He earned his doctorate in 1906 with a thesis on heart diseases associated with thyrotoxicosis. For much of his career, he was a professor at Lyon.

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The cervical spinal nerve 8 (C8) is a spinal nerve of the cervical segment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulnar claw</span> Deformity of the hand that develops due to ulnar nerve damage

An ulnar claw, also known as claw hand, is a deformity or an abnormal attitude of the hand that develops due to ulnar nerve damage causing paralysis of the lumbricals. A claw hand presents with a hyperextension at the metacarpophalangeal joints and flexion at the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints of the 4th and 5th fingers. The patients with this condition can make a full fist but when they extend their fingers, the hand posture is referred to as claw hand. The ring- and little finger can usually not fully extend at the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP).

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Injuries to the arm, forearm or wrist area can lead to various nerve disorders. One such disorder is median nerve palsy. The median nerve controls the majority of the muscles in the forearm. It controls abduction of the thumb, flexion of hand at wrist, flexion of digital phalanx of the fingers, is the sensory nerve for the first three fingers, etc. Because of this major role of the median nerve, it is also called the eye of the hand. If the median nerve is damaged, the ability to abduct and oppose the thumb may be lost due to paralysis of the thenar muscles. Various other symptoms can occur which may be repaired through surgery and tendon transfers. Tendon transfers have been very successful in restoring motor function and improving functional outcomes in patients with median nerve palsy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extrinsic extensor muscles of the hand</span>

The extrinsic extensor muscles of the hand are located in the back of the forearm and have long tendons connecting them to bones in the hand, where they exert their action. Extrinsic denotes their location outside the hand. Extensor denotes their action which is to extend, or open flat, joints in the hand. They include the extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL), extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB), extensor digitorum (ED), extensor digiti minimi (EDM), extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU), abductor pollicis longus (APL), extensor pollicis brevis (EPB), extensor pollicis longus (EPL), and extensor indicis (EI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscles of the thumb</span>

The muscles of the thumb are nine skeletal muscles located in the hand and forearm. The muscles allow for flexion, extension, adduction, abduction and opposition of the thumb. The muscles acting on the thumb can be divided into two groups: The extrinsic hand muscles, with their muscle bellies located in the forearm, and the intrinsic hand muscles, with their muscles bellies located in the hand proper.

References

  1. "Ulnar Nerve - Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics" . Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  2. 1 2 Jeff G. Konin et al. Special Tests for Orthopedic Examination: Third Edition. Thorofare, NJ. SLACK Incorporated, 2006.
  3. Richardson, Craig and Fabre, Gerd. '"Froment's Sign." Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine. Vol. 26, No. 1 (2003):34.
  4. synd/1970 at Who Named It?
  5. Froment, J. (1915). "La préhension dans les paralysies du nerf cubital et le signe du pouce". La Presse Médicale. Paris. 23: 409.