Positive Brudzinski sign is defined as what response when the head is flexed?

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When you passively flex the patient’s neck, a positive Brudzinski sign is shown by reflexive flexion of the hips and knees. This response indicates meningeal irritation, often from meningitis or other inflammatory processes affecting the meninges. The maneuver is done with the patient lying supine, and you look for both the hips and knees bending in response to neck flexion. If there’s no leg movement, or if a different pattern appears (such as only neck movement without leg flexion), the sign is considered negative. This pattern helps distinguish meningeal irritation from other neurologic issues and is often discussed alongside the Kernig sign, which looks at pain or resistance with knee extension when the hip is flexed.