- The Lyre sign refers to the splaying of the internal carotid and external carotid that can be seen with a carotid body tumour (also known as a carotid body paraganglioma).
- It was initially described in angiography but can also be seen on a CT angiogram.
- It is called a “Lyre sign” because the splaying of the internal and external carotid results in a shape like a lyre (the stringed instrument).
- Another commonly described sign with carotid body tumours is Fontaine’s sign, where a palpable carotid body tumour is mobile in a horizontal plane but tethered in a vertical plane.
Last updated October 15, 2022
