Courvoisier’s sign/law is that a palpable gallbladder in a patient with obstructive jaundice is unlikely to be due to gallstones.
Courvoisier observed that if a stone was causing the obstruction the gallbladder was likely to be fibrotic from chronic inflammation and would therefore not dilate, whereas if the obstruction was due to a cause other than a stone the gallbladder would not have been subjected to chronic inflammation so would be able to dilate and thus be palpable on examination.
Courvoisier’s sign suggests pancreatic cancer or cholangiocarcinoma.
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