Popeye Deformity—An Augenblick Diagnosis

Abstract

Some diagnoses, once seen, permit an immediate recognition, resulting in an “Augenblick” (blink of the eye) diagnosis.1 Examples are the shuffling gait and paucity of arm movement in Parkinsonism, the morphologic appearance of acromegaly or Marfan syndrome rapidly suggesting the condition, the unwavering hoarseness of recurrent laryngeal paralysis (perhaps better called “hörenkurz”—hearing momentarily) or the Popeye deformity of the ruptured long head of the biceps.