Trough line sign

Last revised by Bálint Botz on 31 Jan 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Radswiki T, Botz B, Knipe H, et al. Trough line sign. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 20 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-12244

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-12244

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/12244

rID:

12244

Article created:

2 Nov 2010, The Radswiki ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created The Radswiki had no recorded disclosures.

View The Radswiki's current disclosures

Last revised:

31 Jan 2021, Bálint Botz ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Bálint Botz had no recorded disclosures.

View Bálint Botz's current disclosures

Revisions:

5 times, by 5 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Sections:

Signs

Tags:

refs, cases

The trough line sign is a sign of posterior shoulder dislocation on AP shoulder radiograph.

Pathology

In a posterior dislocation, the anterior aspect of the humeral head becomes impacted against the posterior glenoid rim. With sufficient force, this causes a compression fracture on the anterior aspect of the humeral head. This compression fracture is analogous to the Hill-Sachs compression fracture seen with anterior shoulder dislocation of the glenohumeral joint.