Rovsing's sign

The appendix is generally the prime suspect, although other pathology can also give a "positive" Rovsing's sign.

Rovsing's sign, named after the Danish surgeon Niels Thorkild Rovsing, is a sign of appendicitis.

Similarly this is the explanation for other signs of localised peritonitis such as Murphy's sign, Rovsing's sign or Psoas sign.

If palpation of the left lower quadrant of a person's abdomen increases the pain felt in the right lower quadrant, the patient is said to have a positive Rovsing's sign and may have appendicitis.

A Rovsing's sign is elicited by pushing on the abdomen far away from the appendix in the left lower quadrant as in most people the appendix is in the right lower quadrant.