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Review
. 2022 Mar;35(2):200-203.
doi: 10.1002/ca.23815. Epub 2021 Dec 11.

Sister Mary Joseph nodule and the mystery behind its nomenclature

Thirusivapragasam Subramaniam  1
Affiliations
Review

Sister Mary Joseph nodule and the mystery behind its nomenclature

Thirusivapragasam Subramaniam. Clin Anat. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Physicians, nurses, medical students, and nursing students from around the world are familiar with the Sister Mary Joseph nodule. It can appear in the subcutis of the umbilicus in persons who have malignancies of the stomach, pancreas, gynecological organs or urinary tract, or sometimes the respiratory tract. The mystery is how the term traveled overseas from a in Rochester, Minnesota, where Sister Joseph worked, to England, where it first appeared in publication in a textbook by a British surgeon, Hamilton Bailey. There is no record of Bailey ever meeting Sister Joseph or the Mayo brothers, or of his traveling to Mayo Clinic. This article explores the life of Sister Joseph, her influence on Dr William J. Mayo, and the life of Bailey.

Keywords: Sister Mary Joseph; nodule; umbilicus.

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References

REFERENCES

    1. Bailey, H. (1927). Demonstrations of physical signs in clinical surgery. William Wood & Co.
    1. Bailey, H. (1949). Demonstrations of physical signs in clinical surgery (11th ed.). Wright.
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    1. Clapesattle, H. (1941). The doctors Mayo. The University of Minnesota Press.
    1. Cohen, D. C. (2008). A man with an umbilical ulcer. Medscape Journal of Medicine, 10(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2007.10.026

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