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Trachea dips with each pulse
    Differential Diagnosis[Top] [Nav]
aneurysm or dilatation of the aortic arch
    Discussion -- not available online[Top] [Nav]
    Update Comments[Top] [Nav]
  • Says pulsation of larynx in aortic regurgitation is Oliver-Cardarelli sign. Maybe. See below. [101]
  • Contains a thorough discussion of the Oliver and Cardarelli signs, which are distinct. The Oliver sign is a tracheal tug felt when displacing the larynx superiorly, while the Cardarelli sign is felt with leftward laryngeal displacement. Presumably any condition in which the aortic arch is dilated can cause a tracheal tug, including, but certainly not restricted to, aortic regurgitation. [102]
  • Libman, the great New York diagnostician, describes the exact opposite of the tracheal tug: tracheal fixation.
    This is determined by attempting to push the larynx upward, by pushing upon the cricoid cartilage. Usually there is a good degree of mobility. When the sign is definite, the larynx cannot be budged. I do not lay stress on the absence of the sign except in young people with a long neck. In individuals with a short neck, I do not lay stress on the absence of the sign. [sic.]
    This is odd wording -- was there a misprint? Tracheal fixation indicates mediastinal disease, e.g. mediastinal adenopathy in tuberculosis, but especially neoplasia. Libman notes that a tracheal tug and fixation may both be present when there is an aortic aneurysm. [103]
  • Mistakenly calls examination for mediastinal fixation the "tracheal tug" technique. [104]
    Footnotes in Print Edition[Top] [Nav]
    (1) DeGowin & DeGowin's Bedside Diagnostic Examination. 5th ed.
  DeGowin RL. NY: Macmillian, 1987: 447.   Amazon.com
    (2) Medical Diagnostic Signs: A Reference Collection of Eponymic Bedside Signs.
  Birrer RB, Birrer CD. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1982: 16.   Amazon.com
    (3) Tracheal diastolic shock in the diagnosis of aortic aneurism.
  Hall JN.   Am J Med Sci. 1900;119:10-14.
    (4) The Principles and Practice of Medicine.
  Osler W. New York: Appleton, 1892: 673-677.
    (5) Medical Diagnostic Signs: A Reference Collection of Eponymic Bedside Signs.
  Birrer RB, Birrer CD. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1982: 87.   Amazon.com
    New References[Top] [Nav]

Tracheal tugs
    101.Cardiology.
  Parmley WW, Chatterjee K (eds). Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1988: volume 2, chapter 31, page 11.
    102.The Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis.
  Sapira JD. Baltimore: Urban & Schwarzenburg, 1990: 235-236.   Amazon.com

Tracheal fixation
    103.Notes on clinical observations and methods II.
  Libman E.   J Mt Sinai Hosp. 1941-1942;8:777-781.
    104.Textbook of Physical Diagnosis: History and Examination. 2nd ed.
  Swartz MH. Philadelphia: Saunders, 1994: 215.   Amazon.com
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    ©1986-2000 John Sotos, MD. All rights reserved.  Last updated 16:34 PDT on July 4, 2000.[Top]

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