Throckmorton sign
n.— «One of these medical “tidbits” is the infamous “Throckmorton sign” for hip X-rays. This sign, the student is told, means that the penis is always pointed towards the side with the problem. This is always discussed while looking over a series of X-rays and inevitably proves true. The students are impressed and a bit baffled. Eventually, they learn that X-ray techs always take the X-ray picture with the patient on his side with the problem hip down closest to the film. The area closest to the film is seen more clearly on X-ray, so you want that to be the problem side. Gravity does the rest.» —“medical malarkey” by Steve Carder Humor List Dec. 21, 2000. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Up Your Alley (episode #1504) 07/30/2018: Book recommendations, including a collection of short stories inspired by dictionaries, and a techno-thriller for teens. Or, how about novels with an upbeat message? Publishers... [more]
Piping Hot (episode #1503) 07/23/2018: The game of baseball has alway inspired colorful commentary. Sometimes that means using familiar words in unfamiliar ways. The word stuff, for example, can refer... [more]
Mimeographs and Dittos (episode #1502) 06/24/2018: In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so... [more]
Spicy Jambalaya 06/18/2018: Teen slang from the South, and food words that are tricky to pronounce. • High schoolers in Huntsville, Alabama, told Martha and Grant about their... [more]
Chopped Liver 06/10/2018: There's a proverb that goes "beloved children have many names." At least, that's true when it comes to the names we give our pets. "Fluffy"... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.