Clinical Signs Beginning With H

19 signs in this guide begin with the letter H. 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
Hamman's sign	Chest & Breathing	Associated with air in the mediastinum (pneumomediastinum), for example after severe vomiting or an asthma attack.
Hawkins–Kennedy test	Muscles, Bones & Joints	Associated with subacromial impingement of the rotator cuff tendons.
Head bobbing	Chest & Breathing	Associated with significant respiratory distress in infancy.
Head impulse test	Neurology	Associated with loss of peripheral vestibular function on that side; in acute continuous vertigo, a normal head impulse can point toward a central cause.
Heberden's nodes	Muscles, Bones & Joints	Associated with osteoarthritis of the fingers.
Hegar's sign	Pregnancy & Women's Health	Associated with early pregnancy.
Heliotrope rash	Skin & Nails	Associated with dermatomyositis.
Herald patch	Skin & Nails	Associated with the start of pityriasis rosea.
Hill's sign	Heart & Circulation	Associated with significant aortic regurgitation; the larger the difference, the more severe the leak tends to be.
Hirschberg test	General, Eyes & Ears	Used to detect and roughly grade strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), especially in children.
Hoffmann sign	Neurology	Associated with upper motor neuron lesions, especially cervical cord disease, particularly when other reflexes are brisk.
Homan's sign	Blood & Lymph	Traditionally associated with deep vein thrombosis of the calf, but it is unreliable — it is often present without a clot and absent with one — so modern diagnosis relies on scoring systems, D-dimer and ultrasound.
Hoover's sign	Neurology	Used to help distinguish functional (non-organic) leg weakness from weakness caused by structural disease.
Hoover's sign of COPD	Chest & Breathing	Associated with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with a flattened diaphragm.
Horner's syndrome	Neurology	Associated with disruption of the sympathetic nerve pathway to the eye, anywhere from the brainstem through the neck and upper chest.
Howship–Romberg sign	Abdomen & Digestion	Associated with an obturator hernia pressing on the obturator nerve.
Hunter's glossitis	Blood & Lymph	Associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, as in pernicious anaemia.
Hutchinson's nail sign	Skin & Nails	Associated with subungual melanoma — a melanoma growing under the nail.
Hutchinson's sign (zoster)	Skin & Nails	Associated with involvement of the nasociliary branch of the trigeminal nerve, which also supplies the eye — so eye involvement is more likely and needs eye assessment.

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 H

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