Boas' or Boas's sign is

hyperaesthesia Hyperesthesia is a condition that involves an abnormal increase in sensitivity to stimuli of the senses. Stimuli of the senses can include sound that one hears, foods that one tastes, textures that one feels, and so forth. Increased touch sensit ...

(increased or altered sensitivity) below the right

Hypochondrium In anatomy, the division of the abdomen into regions can employ a nine-region scheme. The hypochondrium refers to the two hypochondriac regions in the upper third of the abdomen; the left hypochondrium and right hypochondrium. They are located ...

or 12th rib region, which can be a symptom in acute

cholecystitis Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. Symptoms include Right upper quadrant (abdomen), right upper abdominal pain, pain in the right shoulder, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. Often gallbladder attacks (biliary colic) precede ...

(inflammation of the

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

). It is one of many signs a medical provider may look for during an

abdominal examination An abdominal examination is a portion of the physical examination which a physician or nurse uses to clinically observe the abdomen of a patient for signs of disease. The abdominal examination is conventionally split into four different stages: ...

. Originally this sign referred to point tenderness in the region to the right of the 10th to 12th thoracic vertebrae. It is less than 7% sensitive. Its namesake is Ismar Isidor Boas (1858–1938), a German physician and the first licensed GI specialist in his country. Boas' sign can also indicate stomach and duodenal disease. When the transverse processes of thoracic vertebrae T10-T12 are pressed or

effleurage , a French word meaning 'to skim' or 'to touch lightly on', is a series of massage strokes used in Swedish massage to warm up the muscle before deep Tissue (biology), tissue work using . This is a soothing, stroking movement used at the beginnin ...

d with the bottom of the hand, pain can appear at the left of

spinous processes Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

(in

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

lesser curvature The curvatures of the stomach are the long, convex, lateral surface, and the shorter, concave, medial surface of the stomach, which are referred to as the greater and lesser curvatures, respectively. The greater curvature, which begins at the ca ...

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...

) or at the right (in

pyloric The pylorus ( or ) connects the stomach to the duodenum. The pylorus is considered as having two parts, the ''pyloric antrum'' (opening to the body of the stomach) and the ''pyloric canal'' (opening to the duodenum). The ''pyloric canal'' ends a ...

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

References

Medical signs {{med-sign-stub