Higoumenakis sign
Higoumenakis sign is a unilateral enlargement of the sternoclavicular portion of the clavicle, seen in congenital syphilis. It's an end result of neonatal periostitis.
The sign was first described by George K. Higoumenakis in 1927 in the Greek periodical Proceedings of the Medical Society of Athens (Πρακτικά Ιατρικής Εταιρείας Αθηνών).[1] He subsequently published the description of the sign in a German article, making the sign more known among dermatologists.[2] Thus, the sign was named after George Higoumenakis.
George Higoumenakis (1895–1983) was a Greek dermatologist born in Iraklion of Crete (Greece).[3] He studied medicine at the Medical School of the National University of Athens. He then chose to become a dermatologist and went to France to fulfil his desire. He was a student of Gaston Milian, a famous syphilologist, at the Hospital St. Louis.
He returned to Greece in 1924, became a member of the Medical Society of Athens and began practicing medicine privately. He aspired to pursue an academic career as well in the National University of Athens, but this never occurred, possibly due to conflicts with professors at the Medical School of Athens. Nevertheless, these setbacks did not put him down. He became a director of the Department of Dermatology at the hospital "Evaggelismos" and practiced medicine successfully until the 1940s. Although he continued practicing medicine after as well, he got involved with politics and managed to become in 1965 a Member of the Greek Parliament and Minister of Hygiene.[4]
Konstanin G. Higoumenakis is his son. He is a dermatologist and a retired assistant professor of Dermatology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Reference list
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- Higoumenakis KG: Higoumenakis's sign and its significance for the diagnosis of congenital syphilis. Dermatologische Wochenschrift 154(30):697-705 (1968).
- Higoumenakis G: A new stigma of hereditary syphilis. Proceedings of the Medical Society of Athens. 687-699 (1927). [in Greek]
- Higoumenakis G: Neues Stigma der kongenitalen Lues. Die Vergrosserung des sternalen Endes des Rechten Schlusselbeins, seine Beschreibung, Deutung and Ätiologie. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Nervenheilkunde. 114(4):288-299 (1930). [1]
- Frangos CC, Frangos CC: George Higoumenakis (1895–1983): Greek dermatologist. Journal of Medical Biography 17(2):64-72 (2009). [2]
- Frangos CC, Frangos CC: George Higoumenakis (1895–1983), Dermatologist: The Tale of 'Higoumenakis Sign' in Congenital Syphilis and His Life Achievements. Analecta Historico Medica (Supplement 1-part III):133-137 (2008). [3]
- Φράγκος ΚΧ: Γέωργιος Κ. Ηγουμενάκης. BioMedResearch.gr, Ιούνιος 2009. [4]
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- ↑ Higoumenakis G: A new stigma of hereditary syphilis. Proceedings of the Medical Society of Athens. 687-699 (1927).
- ↑ Higoumenakis G: Neues Stigma der kongenitalen Lues. Die Vergrosserung des sternalen Endes des Rechten Schlusselbeins, seine Beschreibung, Deutung and Ätiologie. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Nervenheilkunde 114(4):288-299 (1930). [5]
- ↑ We must note that George Higoumenakis was Greek and not Polish, as mentioned in Dorland's Medical Dictionary.
- ↑ Frangos CC, Frangos CC: George Higoumenakis (1895–1983): Greek dermatologist. Journal of Medical Biography 17(2):64-72 (2009). [6]
