Thomas Stephen Cullen (November 20, 1868 – March 4, 1953) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

associated with

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

. Born in Bridgewater,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Cullen was educated at the Toronto Collegiate Institute and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, graduating from the latter school with a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degree in 1890. He began studying at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

the next year, before traveling to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and studying at

Johannes Orth Johannes Orth (14 January 1847 – 13 January 1923 in Berlin) was a German pathologist born in Wallmerod. He studied medicine at the universities of Heidelberg, Würzburg and Bonn, receiving his habilitation in 1872 while an assistant to Edua ...

's laboratory at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in 1893. From 1893 to 1896, Cullen was in charge of gynecological

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

at Johns Hopkins, and in 1919 he was named a professor of clinical gynecology. Cullen researched gynecological diseases including

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ute ...

and

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these sympto ...

and promoted extensive use of diagrams in biomedical publishing.

Cullen's sign Cullen's sign, also known as umbilical black eye, is superficial edema and bruising in the subcutaneous fatty tissue around the umbilicus. It is named for gynecologist Thomas Stephen Cullen (1869–1953), who first described the sign in ruptured ...

, a discoloration of the skin about the

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

which is regarded as a sign of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, is named for him. He wrote alone, and in collaboration, four important

monographs A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

: * ''Cancer of the

Uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

'' (1900) * ''Adenomyoma of the Uterus'' (1908) * ''Myomata of the Uterus'', with

Howard Atwood Kelly Howard Atwood Kelly (February 20, 1858 – January 12, 1943) was an American gynecologist. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. degree and Doctor of Medicine, M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He, William Osler, William Stewart ...

(1909) * ''Diseases of the Umbilicus'' (1916) Cullen died at

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

References

External links

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Archival papers

Photo by Yusef Karsh

Biomed experts
1868 births 1953 deaths Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians University of Toronto alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Canadian gynaecologists Canadian science writers Canadian expatriates in the United States {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub