Terry-Thomas sign
Pattern seen in radiologic examinations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Terry-Thomas sign is a scapholunate ligament dissociation on an anteroposterior radiological view of the wrist.[1][2] Most commonly a result of a fall on the outstretched hand (FOOSH), the scapholunate ligament ruptures resulting in separation of the lunate and scaphoid bones. This burst causes the scaphoid bone to dorsally rotate.[3] A gap of more than 3mm is pathognomonic for scapholunate dissociation.[4]
| Terry-Thomas sign | |
|---|---|
| |
| Arrow pointing to the gap between scaphoid and lunate bones. Its name derives from Terry-Thomas, who had a similar looking gap between his two front teeth | |
| Differential diagnosis | scapholunate ligament dissociation |
The resulting separation between the scaphoid and lunate bones leaves a space on the x-ray that is similar to the gap comedian Terry-Thomas had between his front teeth. For newer radiology students who do not know who Terry-Thomas was, this finding might also be known as the David Letterman sign.[3]
