Winterbottom's sign

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Winterbottom's sign - Swollen lymph nodes along back of neck in child with early trypanosomiasis
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Winterbottom's sign - Swollen lymph nodes along back of neck in child with early trypanosomiasis

Winterbottom's sign is seen in the early phase of African trypanosomiasis, a disease caused by the parasites Trypanosoma brucei rhodiense and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense which is more commonly known as African sleeping sickness. Winterbottom's sign is the swelling of lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) along the back of the neck, in the posterior cervical chain of lymph nodes, as trypanosomes travel in the lymphatic fluid and cause inflammation.

[edit] References

CDC website on trypanosomiasis