John Benjamin Murphy
American surgeon (1857-1916) · United States · On the map · Doctors · Died at 58
John Benjamin Murphy, born John Murphy, was an American physician and abdominal surgeon noted for advocating early surgical intervention in appendicitis appendectomy, and several eponyms: Murphy’s button, Murphy drip, Murphy’s punch, Murphy’s test, and Murphy-Lane bone skid.
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He is best remembered for the eponymous clinical sign that is used in evaluating patients with acute cholecystitis. His career spanned general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and cardiothoracic surgery, which helped him to gain international prominence in the surgical profession. Mayo Clinic co-founder William James Mayo called him "the surgical genius of our generation".