Litten's sign
Encyclopedia
Litten's sign is a clinical sign
in which cotton wool spots
are seen on fundoscopic examination of the retina
in patients with infective endocarditis
.
The sign is named after Moritz Litten
.
Medical sign
A medical sign is an objective indication of some medical fact or characteristic that may be detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient....
in which cotton wool spots
Cotton wool spots
Cotton wool spots are an abnormal finding on funduscopic exam of the retina of the eye. They appear as puffy white patches on the retina. They are caused by damage to nerve fibers. The nerve fibers are damaged by swelling in the surface layer of the retina...
are seen on fundoscopic examination of the retina
Retina
The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
in patients with infective endocarditis
Infective endocarditis
Infective endocarditis is a form of endocarditis, or inflammation, of the inner tissue of the heart, such as its valves, caused by infectious agents. The agents are usually bacterial, but other organisms can also be responsible....
.
The sign is named after Moritz Litten
Moritz Litten
Moritz Litten was a German physician who was a native of Berlin. He was a son-in-law to pathologist Ludwig Traube ....
.