Football sign
Encyclopedia
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, the football sign is a sign
Radiologic sign
A radiologic sign is an "objective" indication of some medical fact or quality that is detected by a physician during examination of a radiograph .-Examples:*Football sign*Hampton's hump*Omental cake*Pneumatosis intestinalis...
indicative of air in the abdominal cavity
Pneumoperitoneum
Pneumoperitoneum is air or gas in the abdominal cavity. It is often seen on X-ray, but small amounts are often missed, and CT is nowadays regarded as a criterion standard in the assessment of a pneumoperitoneum. CT can visualize quantities as small as 5 cm³ of air or gas...
seen on supine radiographs of the abdomen. It appears as a large oval radiolucency
Radiodensity
Radiodensity refers to the relative inability of electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays, to pass through a particular material. Radiolucency indicates greater transparency or "transradiancy" to X-ray photons...
reminiscent of an American football. The football sign is most frequently seen in infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
s with spontaneous or iatrogenic gastric perforation causing pneumoperitoneum
Pneumoperitoneum
Pneumoperitoneum is air or gas in the abdominal cavity. It is often seen on X-ray, but small amounts are often missed, and CT is nowadays regarded as a criterion standard in the assessment of a pneumoperitoneum. CT can visualize quantities as small as 5 cm³ of air or gas...
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