Winterbottom's sign

Winterbottom's sign is a swelling of <a href="/facts/Lymph_node/vkwfcQjH">lymph nodes</a> (<a href="/facts/Lymphadenopathy/t7t4tEon">lymphadenopathy</a>) along the <a href="/facts/Posterior_cervical/Korh0M99">posterior cervical</a> lymph node chain, associated with the early phase of <a href="/facts/African_trypanosomiasis/zuvUoRKC">African trypanosomiasis</a> (African sleeping sickness), a <a href="/facts/Disease/55eeQlGL">disease</a> caused by the parasites <a href="/facts/Trypanosoma_brucei_rhodesiense/nNTY1A0A">Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense</a> and <a href="/facts/Trypanosoma_brucei_gambiense/nNTY1A0A">Trypanosoma brucei gambiense</a>. It may be suggestive of cerebral infection.
The sign was first reported by the English physician <a href="/facts/Thomas_Masterman_Winterbottom/owt3qV3H">Thomas Masterman Winterbottom</a> in 1803. Winterbottom observed that slave traders would palpate the necks of slaves before purchasing them, likely to prevent losses from their human merchandise by sleeping sickness.

Winterbottom's sign open-in-new

Winterbottom's sign