thumb & little finger signs

thumb & little finger signs

Imaging A pair of findings on plain lateral films of the neck; the 'thumb' occurs in acute epiglottitis and corresponds to an edematous aryepiglottic fold–epiglottic shadow with near-complete obliteration of the valleculae and pyriform sinuses, likened to an adult's thumb; the 'little finger' is used for comparison, where the epiglottic shadow is svelte, resembling an adult's little finger