The Brudziński neck sign or Brudziński's symptom is a clinical sign

Medical sign

A medical sign is an objective indication of some medical fact or characteristic that may be detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient....

 in which forced flexion

Flexion

In anatomy, flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal and muscular systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position. For example the elbow is flexed when the hand is brought closer to the shoulder...

 of the neck elicits a reflex flexion of the hips. It is found in patients with meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

, subarachnoid haemorrhage and possibly encephalitis

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...

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The sign is named after Józef Brudziński

Józef Brudzinski

Józef Polikarp Brudziński was a Polish pediatrician who was born in the village of Bolewo .He studied medicine in Tartu and Moscow, and in 1897 moved to Krakow, where he trained in pediatrics...

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Pathophysiology

The pain felt on Kernig's sign is due to meningeal irritation caused by movement of the spinal cords within the meninges. In the Brudzinski's neck sign, this movement with neck flexion is cancelled out by the flexion of the hip; much like two persons pulling on either side of a single rope.