Froment sign

Medical condition

Froment sign

Positive Froment sign (below)
Differential diagnosis	palsy of the ulnar nerve

Froment sign is a special test of the wrist for palsy of the ulnar nerve, specifically, the action of adductor pollicis.^[1]

Process of examination

To perform the test, a patient is asked to hold an object, usually a flat object such as a piece of paper, between the thumb and index finger (pinch grip). The examiner then attempts to pull the object out of the subject's hands.^[2]

A normal individual will be able to maintain a hold on the object without difficulty.
However, with ulnar nerve palsy, the patient will experience difficulty maintaining a hold using the adductor pollicis. They will instead use the flexor pollicis longus of the thumb to grip the paper causing a flexion of the interphalangeal joint.^[3]
Froment sign is the flexion of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb rather than adduction of the entire thumb.
Note that the flexor pollicis longus is nearly always innervated by the anterior interosseous branch of the median nerve.
Simultaneous hyperextension of the thumb MCP joint is indicative of ulnar nerve compromise. This is also known as Jeanne's sign.^[2]

Eponym

It is named after French neurologist Jules Froment.^[4]^[5]

References

^ "Ulnar Nerve - Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics". Retrieved 2008-01-26.
^ ^a ^b Jeff G. Konin et al. Special Tests for Orthopedic Examination: Third Edition. Thorofare, NJ. SLACK Incorporated, 2006.
^ Richardson, Craig and Fabre, Gerd. '"Froment's Sign." Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine. Vol. 26, No. 1 (2003):34.
^ synd/1970 at Who Named It?
^ Froment, J. (1915). "La préhension dans les paralysies du nerf cubital et le signe du pouce". La Presse Médicale. 23. Paris: 409.

Signs and symptoms relating to the nervous system

Neurological examination
Cranial nerve examination

Central nervous system

Head	Battle's sign Kernig's sign Macewen's sign Myerson's sign Stroop test Hirano body
Other	Intracranial pressure Cushing's triad Lhermitte's sign Charcot's neurologic triad

Peripheral nervous system

Reflexes

Combination	Jendrassik maneuver
Legs	Plantar reflex Chaddock reflex Oppenheim's sign Westphal's sign
Arms	Hoffmann's reflex

Other

Arms	Froment's sign carpal tunnel syndrome Tinel's sign Phalen maneuver
Legs	Gowers's sign Hoover's sign Straight leg raise Trendelenburg's sign
Torso	Beevor's sign
General	Pain stimulus

Diseases relating to the peripheral nervous system

Mononeuropathy

Arm

median nerve	Carpal tunnel syndrome Ape hand deformity
ulnar nerve	Ulnar nerve entrapment Froment's sign Ulnar tunnel syndrome Ulnar claw
radial nerve	Radial neuropathy Wrist drop Cheiralgia paresthetica
long thoracic nerve	Winged scapula Backpack palsy

Leg

lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh	Meralgia paraesthetica
tibial nerve	Tarsal tunnel syndrome
plantar nerve	Morton's neuroma
superior gluteal nerve	Trendelenburg's sign
sciatic nerve	Piriformis syndrome

Cranial nerves

See Template:Cranial nerve disease

Polyneuropathy and Polyradiculoneuropathy

HMSN	Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease Dejerine–Sottas disease Refsum's disease Hereditary spastic paraplegia Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy Familial amyloid neuropathy
Autoimmune and demyelinating disease	Guillain–Barré syndrome Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Radiculopathy and plexopathy	Brachial plexus injury Pectoralis minor syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome Phantom limb
Other	Alcoholic polyneuropathy

Other

General	Complex regional pain syndrome Mononeuritis multiplex Nerve compression syndrome Neuralgia Peripheral neuropathy

Musculoskeletal examination

Leg

Hip examination	Galeazzi test Allis test Barlow maneuver Ober's test Ortolani test Patrick's test Thomas test Trendelenburg's sign
Knee examination	Ballottement Clarke's test Drawer test Lachman test Patellar tap Pivot-shift test Valgus stress test meniscus Apley grind test McMurray test ligament and meniscus Unhappy triad
Foot and ankle	Hubscher's maneuver Mulder's sign Thompson test
General	Straight leg raise Lasègue's sign Gait abnormality Trendelenburg gait Unequal leg length Gower's sign

Arm

Shoulder examination	Apprehension test Jobe's test Neer Impingement Test Yergason's test rotator cuff Hawkins–Kennedy test Watson's test
Elbow examination	Cozen's test Elbow extension test
Hand and wrist	Durkan's test Finkelstein's test Froment's sign Lunotriquetral shear test Phalen maneuver Tinel sign Watson's test
General	Bethlem sign