Salus's sign explained

Differential:hypertensive retinopathy

Salus's sign is a clinical sign in which deflection of retinal venules can be seen on fundoscopy occurring in patients with hypertensive retinopathy.[1] Arteriosclerosis causes shortening or lengthening of arterioles, which causes venules to be moved at points where arterioles and venules cross over. This is seen at right-angle crossing points, where the venule crosses the arteriole in a horseshoe shape.[2]

The sign is named after Robert Salus.[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1201779-overview Hypertension
  2. Sebastian Wolf, Berndt Kirchof, Martin Reim. The ocular fundus, page 131. Thieme, 2005. . Google books
  3. Salus . Robert . Ernst . Aldstein . 1939 . The fundus oculi in generalized hypertension and arteriosclerosis . Arch Ophthalmol . 21 . 3 . 505–508 . 2009-04-12 . 10.1001/archopht.1939.00860030113011.