- A dictionary of medical eponyms

McBurney's point

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A guide to the position of the appendix, determined by the pressure of one finger. This point midway between the umbilicus and the right anteriorsuperior iliac spine, about 2,5-5,1 cm above the latter – is the most frequent site of maximum tenderness in acute appendicitis.

Bibliography

  • C. McBurney:
    Experience with early operative interference in cases of disease of the vermiform appendix.
    New York Medical Journal, 1889, 50: 676-684.
    Reprinted in Medical Classics, 1938; 2: 506-531. Page 678: “The seat of greatest pain, determined by the pressure of one finger, has been very exactly between an inch and a half and two two inches from the anterior spinous process of the ilium on a straight line drawn from that process to the umbilicus”.

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