Winterbottom's sign

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's sign
Differential diagnosis	African trypanosomiasis

A sketch of two women suffering from Winterbottom's Sign

The sign was first reported by the English physician Thomas Masterman Winterbottom in 1803.^[2] 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.^[3][4][5]