Clinical Signs Beginning With C

24 signs in this guide begin with the letter C. Every name links to a page explaining what the sign is, how it is elicited on examination, what a positive finding is associated with, and — for eponyms — who the sign is named after.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

Sign	System	A positive finding is associated with
Café-au-lait spots	Skin & Nails	Multiple large spots are associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.
Capillary refill time	General, Eyes & Ears	A prolonged refill is associated with poor peripheral circulation or shock, and a brisk refill with a warm, vasodilated circulation.
Caput medusae	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with portal hypertension, most often from cirrhosis of the liver.
Carnett's sign	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with pain arising in the abdominal wall itself rather than from an organ inside; tenderness that eases on tensing points inward.
Carpet tack sign	Skin & Nails	Associated with discoid lupus erythematosus, where scale is anchored in plugged hair follicles.
Castell's sign	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly).
Chaddock sign	Neurology	Associated with corticospinal tract lesions; useful when the sole of the foot is tender or very ticklish.
Chadwick's sign	Pregnancy & Women's Health	Associated with early pregnancy; one of the classic presumptive signs.
Chandelier sign	Pregnancy & Women's Health	Associated with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and other causes of pelvic peritoneal irritation.
Charcot's triad	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with acute cholangitis — infection of the bile ducts behind an obstruction.
Cheyne–Stokes respiration	Chest & Breathing	Associated with heart failure, stroke and other severe illness affecting the breathing control centres.
Chvostek's sign	Hormones & Metabolism	Associated with increased nerve excitability from low blood calcium (hypocalcaemia), though it can occur in some healthy people.
Clonus	Neurology	Sustained clonus is associated with upper motor neuron lesions.
Corneal arcus	General, Eyes & Ears	Common and usually benign with age; in people under about 45 it is associated with inherited lipid disorders such as familial hypercholesterolaemia.
Corrigan's pulse	Heart & Circulation	Associated with aortic regurgitation and other wide pulse pressure states.
Courvoisier's gallbladder	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with obstruction of the bile duct by a tumour, classically of the pancreatic head, rather than by stones.
Cover test	General, Eyes & Ears	Used to detect manifest and latent strabismus in children and adults.
Cozen's test	Muscles, Bones & Joints	Associated with lateral epicondylitis — 'tennis elbow'.
Cremasteric reflex	Kidney & Urinary	Absence on the painful side is associated with testicular torsion; the reflex may also be absent in some normal boys.
Crossed straight leg raise	Muscles, Bones & Joints	Associated with a large or central lumbar disc prolapse irritating the nerve roots.
Crowe's sign	Skin & Nails	Associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.
Cullen's sign	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with blood in the peritoneal cavity, classically severe acute pancreatitis and ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Currant jelly stool	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with intussusception, where one segment of bowel telescopes into another.
Cushing's triad	Neurology	Associated with critically raised pressure inside the skull (intracranial pressure).

Please note: This page is an educational reference about clinical examination signs. A clinical sign supports — and never replaces — a full clinical evaluation, examination and appropriate testing. A sign being present does not by itself prove a diagnosis, and an absent sign does not rule one out. If you have symptoms that worry you, see a health professional.

Clinical Signs Beginning With C

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