Cupola sign

The Cupola Sign was described by Mindelzun and McCort in 1986.

Pattern seen in radiologic examinations

Medical condition

Cupola sign

Cupola sign
Differential diagnosis	pneumoperitoneum

The cupola sign is seen on a supine chest or abdominal radiograph in the presence of pneumoperitoneum.

It refers to air that rises within the abdominal cavity of the supine patient to accumulate underneath the central tendon of the diaphragm in the midline. It is seen as lucency overlying the lower thoracic vertebral bodies. The superior border is well defined, but the inferior margin is not.

Term

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"Cupola" is an architectural term, referring to a small dome (in particular, a small dome crowning a roof or a turret). The word derives from a Latin word for a "little cup".

References

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Mindelzun and McCort, "Cupola Sign: A New Radiographic Sign of Pneumoperitoneum on Supine Abdominal Radiographs." Radiology. 1986; 158(1): 153–155. doi:10.1148/radiology.158.1.3940261

Marshall Geoffrey B. "The Cupola Sign." Radiology 241, no. 2 (November 1, 2006): 623–624. doi:10.1148/radiol.2412040700.
Fleming J, Honour H, Pevsner N. The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture: Fourth Edition. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140512411. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon

v t e Radiologic signs
Breasts	Acorn cyst sign Teacup sign
Cardiovascular	Aortic unfolding Aortic nipple sign Cœur en sabot Dense artery sign Halo sign High-attenuation crescent sign Water bottle heart
Gastrointestinal	Bowler hat sign Coffee bean sign Colon cut-off sign Comb sign Cupola sign Double bubble Double duct sign Endoexoenteric Football sign Hampton's line Hot quadrate sign Klemm's sign Leadpipe colon Mercedes-Benz sign Mumoli's sign Omental cake Pneumatosis intestinalis Pyloric tit sign Rigler's sign Rigler's triad Sentinel loop Small bowel faeces sign Stepladder sign Whirlpool sign
Musculoskeletal	Absent bowtie sign Anteater nose sign Blade of grass sign Brim sign Celery stalking Cheerio sign Cockade sign Codfish vertebra Corduroy sign Crescent sign Dagger sign Deep lateral femoral notch sign Double posterior cruciate ligament sign Dripping candle wax sign Empty vertebral body sign Fabella sign Fairbank's changes Fat pad sign/Sail sign of the elbow Gilula's lines Growth arrest lines Hilgenreiner's line Honda sign J-shaped sella sign Klein's line Licked candy stick appearance Light bulb sign Napoleon hat sign Notching of the ribs Osteopathia striata Pencil-in-cup sign Perkin's line Polka dot sign Popcorn calcification Sandwich vertebra Scottie dog sign Shiny corner sign Terry-Thomas sign Thurstan Holland sign Trethowan's sign
Neurological	Boomerang sign Dense artery sign Dense MCA sign Dural tail sign Empty sella sign Eye of the tiger sign Face of the giant panda sign Hot nose sign Hotcross bun sign Insular ribbon sign White cerebellum sign
Oncological	Bowl of grapes sign Misty mesentery sign
Respiratory	Air crescent sign Bat wing appearance Black pleura sign Cannonball sign Chang sign Comet tail sign Continuous diaphragm sign Cottage loaf sign Crazy paving Deep sulcus sign Double bronchial wall sign Falciform ligament sign Fleischner sign Golden S sign Ground-glass opacity Hampton hump Hilum overlay sign Holly leaf sign Juxtaphrenic peak sign Kerley lines Knuckle sign Mediastinal shift Palla's sign Peribronchial cuffing Sail sign of the chest Silhouette sign Steeple sign Thumbprint sign Traction bronchiectasis Tree-in-bud sign Westermark sign
Urogenital	Bear paw sign Canga's bead symptom Drooping lily sign Faceless kidney sign Fishhook ureter sign Jackstone calculus Maiden waist deformity Putty kidney
Other	Mickey Mouse sign Rice grain calcification Ring-enhancing lesion Tram track Water lily sign

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t
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Signs and symptoms relating to the human digestive system, including the abdomen and eating disorders that are associated

Gastrointestinal
tract

Accessory

liver: Councilman body
Mallory body

biliary: Boas' sign
Courvoisier's law
Charcot's cholangitis triad/Reynolds' pentad
cholecystitis (Murphy's sign
Lépine's sign
Mirizzi's syndrome)
Nardi test

Defecation

Abdomen

Pain	Abdominal pain Acute abdomen Colic Baby colic Abdominal guarding Blumberg's sign
Distension	Abdominal distension Bloating Ascites Tympany Shifting dullness Fluid wave test
Masses	Abdominal mass Hepatosplenomegaly Hepatomegaly Splenomegaly
Other	Jaundice Mallet-Guy's sign Puddle sign Ballance's sign Aortic insufficiency Castell's sign Kehr's sign Cullen's sign Grey Turner's sign