Williams Bryan
Williams McIver Bryan, Jr (1917-2007) was an American obstetrician and gynecologist.
Remembered for Bryan sign (1955) clinical sign of appendicitis in pregnancy of right lower quadrant pain elicited when the gravid uterus is shifted to the right side.
Biography
- Born on June 24, 1917 in Savannah, Georgia
- BS, University of South Carolina
- 1944 – Graduated medical school; Medical College of South Carolina
- Naval Medical officer in WWII and and the Korean Wars
- 1950 – Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia General Hospital, South Carolina
- Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Columbia Hospital (now Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital)
- Master of Science, University of Tennessee School of Medicine in Memphis; Fred Adair Teaching Fellow in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine
- Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Life Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Died on October 30, 2007 in Columbia, South Carolina
Medical Eponyms
Bryan Sign (1955)
Bryan presented at the 17th meeting of the South Atlantic Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on ‘Surgical Emergencies in Pregnancy and in the Puerperium’
In appendicitis, pressure on a pregnant uterus from the left side will often elicit pain in the right lower or middle quadrant.
Bryan 1955: 1205
1964 – Kurtz et al found that the most reliable physical finding for appendicitis during pregnancy is if pain is elicited when the gravid uterus is shifted to the right side (Bryan sign)
Bryan sign had an accuracy rate of 83.8% followed by rebound tenderness (68.6%) in diagnosing appendicitis during pregnancy.
Major Publications
- Bryan WM Jr. The technic of saddle block analgesia in obstetrics. J S C Med Assoc. 1949; 45(1): 8-10.
- Bryan WM Jr. The pathology of the toxemias of late pregnancy. J Tn State Med Assoc. 1949; 42(8): 271-3.
- Bryan WM Jr. Myasthenia gravis in pregnancy and in the newborn infant; review of literature and case report. Obstet Gynecol. 1954; 4(3): 339-43.
- Bryan WM Jr. Surgical emergencies in pregnancy and the puerperium. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1955; 70(6): 1204-1211. discussion, 1211-1213 [Bryan sign]
References
Biography
- Dr Williams McIver Bryan Jr. Charleston Post & Courier 2007
- Dr Williams McIver Bryan Jr. Dunbar Funerals. 2007
Eponymous terms
- King RM, Anderson GV. Appendicitis and Pregnancy. California medicine 1962; 97(3): 158-160
- Kurtz GR, David RS, Sproul JD. Acute appendicitis in pregnancy and labor, a report of 41 cases. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 1964; 23(4): 528-532.
- Horowitz MD et al. Acute appendicitis during pregnancy. Diagnosis and management. Arch Surg. 1985; 120(12): 1362-7.
- DeSantis RA, Ernest G. Appendectomy during Pregnancy: A Survey of Two Army Medical Activities. Military Medicine 1999; 164(10): 671-674.
- Eponymythology: Appendicitis eponymous signs. LITFL
Eponym
the person behind the name
