McMurray

McMurray is a medical term that refers to a test used in physical examination of the knee to diagnose a tear in the meniscus. The test is named after Thomas Porter McMurray, a British orthopedic surgeon who described the test in 1942.

Procedure

The McMurray test is performed with the patient lying down and the knee bent. The examiner holds the knee with one hand, and the foot with the other hand. The examiner then rotates the foot outward and extends the knee. If this maneuver produces a "click" sound or causes pain, the test is considered positive, indicating a possible tear in the medial meniscus. The test can also be performed with the foot rotated inward, to test for a tear in the lateral meniscus.

Accuracy

The accuracy of the McMurray test has been studied in several research studies. The sensitivity of the test (the proportion of people with a meniscus tear who have a positive test) is generally reported to be around 50-60%, while the specificity (the proportion of people without a meniscus tear who have a negative test) is higher, at around 70-90%. This means that the test is more reliable at ruling out a meniscus tear (if the test is negative) than at confirming a tear (if the test is positive).

See also

• Knee examination
• Meniscus (anatomy)
• Orthopedic surgery

References

McMurray Resources
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