Courvoisier’s Sign

Couvoisier’s sign (or law) describes enlarged palpable gallbladder in patients with obstructive jaundice caused by tumors of biliary tree or pancreatic head tumors. This kind of biliary obstruction envolves slowly (not quick as obstruction by stones), then envolves dilated gallbladder with thin wall.

Couvoisier’s sign can not be in patients with cholelithiasis, because of connection of this disease with chronical inflammation of gallbladder. It causes fibroproduction in the wall of galbladder. Then the wall is stronger and can not be dilated and enlarged.

Couvoisier’s sign can be found in patients with:
 * biliary tumor (cholangiocarcinoma);
 * periampulary carcinoma (adenocarcinoma of Vater papila or duodenum);
 * pancreatic head cancer .;
 * lymph node metastasis in the porta hepatis.

Related articles

 * Obstructive jaundice
 * Cholangiocarcinoma
 * Pancreatic cancer