medical Definition of Homans' sign
:pain in the calf of the leg upon dorsiflexion of the foot with the leg extended that is diagnostic of thrombosis in the deep veins of the area
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Biographical Note for homans' sign
Homans, John (1877–1954),
American surgeon. Homans was a pioneer in the study of the pancreas. His investigations helped to pave the way for the discovery of insulin as a treatment for diabetes. He also devised an operation for the excision of ulcers in 1929 and wrote a treatise on circulatory diseases of the extremities in 1939. He described Homans' sign in 1941.
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