When the British surgeon Gilbert Grey Turner for the first time described the abrupt occurrence of blue discoloration (bruising) and induration of the skin in the region of the loins 2-3 days after acute retroperitoneal haemorrhage (the Grey-Turner’s sign) (A), surgery was the only possible way to confirm the diagnosis [1]. The description by Dr. Formagnana [2] also recognizes the importance of this sign today when it plays like a summons for an ultrasound scan, now widely available.The clinical presentation of spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage (SRH) is protean and may be initially vague so diagnosis is often delayed if the clinician is unaware of this condition. The specificity of back pain is low even though it is the most common and earliest symptom, and is especially low in the elderly [3, 4]. Only noticing the bruise in the flank in association with back pain and the important reduction in the Hb levels enabled the physicians to think of a SRH. Unfortunately, the Grey-Turner ...