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Glite Dictionary
Jacquemier's sign

Jacquemier's sign

9.9
A purplish colour of the lining of the vagina that appears in early pregnancy
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : signo de Jacquemier
  • During her first prenatal visit, the doctor observed Jacquemier's sign on the vaginal mucous membrane.

Examples

  • Medical students are taught to recognize Jacquemier's sign as a physiological change in early pregnancy.

  • The doctor noted the presence of Jacquemier's sign during the early examination of the patient.

  • Detection of Jacquemier's sign can help confirm a suspected pregnancy.

  • The doctor noted the presence of Jacquemier's sign during the examination.

  • Have you heard about Jacquemier's sign in early pregnancy?

  • Detection of Jacquemier's sign is often an important step in confirming early pregnancy.

  • A healthcare provider teaches students to recognize Jacquemier's sign as an indicator of early pregnancy.

Surface Forms

Jacquemier's sign singular
Jacquemier's signs plural

Morphology

Jacquemier's + sign

This is an eponymic medical term: 'Jacquemier's' is a proper name with no compositional meaning, and while 'sign' indicates a medical observable, it does not specify what the sign is. The specific sense (a purplish vaginal discoloration indicating early pregnancy) cannot be derived from the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would not be able to infer the full meaning.

Etymology

Jacquemier's sign is named after a doctor who first noticed a purplish patch on the vaginal lining in early pregnancy. That purple patch was an easy 'sign' that pregnancy had begun, so today Jacquemier's sign refers to 'an early sign of pregnancy'.