Mulder's sign is a physical exam finding associated with

Morton's neuroma Morton's neuroma is a benign neuroma of an intermetatarsal plantar nerve, most commonly of the second and third intermetatarsal spaces (between the second/third and third/fourth metatarsal heads; the first is of the big toe), which results in t ...

, which may be elicited while the patient is in the

supine In grammar, a supine is a form of verbal noun used in some languages. The term is most often used for Latin, where it is one of the four principal parts of a verb. The word refers to a position of lying on one's back (as opposed to ' prone', ...

position on the examination table. The pain of the neuroma, as well as a click, can be produced by squeezing the two metatarsal heads together with one hand, while concomitantly putting pressure on the interdigital space with the other hand. With this technique, the pain of the Morton's neuroma will be localized strictly to the

plantar Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

surface of the involved interspace, with

paresthesia Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

s radiating into the affected toes.

Eponym

It is named after the Dutch surgeon and

podiatrist A podiatrist ( ) is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for ...

, Jacob D. Mulder (1901–1965).Mulder, Jacob D.; "The causative mechanism in Morton's metatarsalgia", ''Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery'' 1951, 33B (British volume), pp. 94-95Bencardino, Jenny; Rosenberg, Zehava S.; Beltran, Javier; Liu, Xiang; and Marty-Delfaut, Emmanuelle
"Morton's Neuroma: Is It Always Symptomatic?"
''American Journal of Roentgenology'', September 2000, vol. 175, no. 3, pp. 649-653"The Mulder Test for Morton Neuroma"
, in Waldman, Steven; ''Physical Diagnosis of Pain'', Saunders, October 2005, p. 381,

Footnotes

Anatomical pathology Medical signs {{Orthopedics-stub