Winterbottom's sign
| Winterbottom's sign | |
|---|---|
| Differential diagnosis | African trypanosomiasis |
Winterbottom's sign is a swelling of lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) along the posterior cervical lymph node chain, associated with the early phase of African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), a disease caused by the parasites Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. It may be suggestive of cerebral infection.[1] Winterbottom reported about the slave traders who, apparently aware of the ominous sign of swollen cervical lymph glands, used to palpate the necks of the slaves before buying them.[2][3][4]
The sign was first reported by the English physician Thomas Masterman Winterbottom in 1803.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Ormerod WE (October 1991). "Hypothesis: the significance of Winterbottom's sign". J Trop Med Hyg. 94 (5): 338–40. PMID 1942213.
- ^ "The history of sleeping sickness". Archived from the original on March 23, 2008.
- ^ Miles, Tom. "The Winterbottom Catalogue". www.bl.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ^ Cox F. History of sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis). Infectious Disease Clinics of North America - Volume 18, Issue 2 (June 2004)
- ^ Winterbottom, Thomas (1803) An account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, to which is added an account of the present state of medicine among them. London: C. Whittingham.