Paraplegia diagnosed by a new physical sign

Clinical diagnosis is a process of logical deduction from the data gathered by history and physical examination. When organic causes of an illness have been ruled out, a diagnosis of "functional disorder" or "conversion reaction" is considered. Cost of care of such patients can be enormous, especially when a large number of investigations are done to find an organic illness, which does not really exist. In such cases, a positive and early diagnosis of a conversion reaction can save needless tests and much distress to the patient. This report describes a case of paraplegia that was investigated for years before a diagnosis of conversion reaction was firmly made, based on a novel observation. We believe that we describe here a new physical sign, which can be used to diagnose "hysterical paraplegia."