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.
References