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puddle sign

(Science: clinical sign) A sign of free abdominal fluid: the patient assumes a position on all fours; one flank is percussed by repeated light flicking of constant intensity while a Bowles-type stethoscope is placed over the most dependent portion of the abdomen and gradually moved toward the flank opposite the percussion; a sharp increase in the intensity of the sound picked up by the stethoscope indicates the level of fluid.