Winterbottom's sign

The Winterbottom sign, a painless swelling of lymph nodes in the dorsal- lateral neck region, is considered the cardinal symptom African trypanosomiasis ( sleeping sickness).

This disease develops in three stages. In the second stage, the so-called " hämolymphatisches stage," the Winterbottom sign typically occurs along with other symptoms such as headache and fever. Depending on the form of the disease, this can already be done in a few days ( East African form), or take weeks or months ( West African form). These lymph nodes swelling are signs of spread and propagation of the virus in the lymphatic system. The Winterbottom character can exist for several months.

The term comes from the author Thomas Masterman Winterbottom (1766-1859) to 1803.