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). [Higoumenakis G: A new stigma of hereditary syphilis. Proceedings of theMedical Society of Athens. 687-699 (1927).] He subsequently published the description of the sign in a German article, making the sign more known among dermatologists. [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). [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01652813] ] Thus, the sign was named after George Higoumenakis.

George Higoumenakis (1895-1983) was a Greek dermatologist born in Iraklion of Crete (Greece). [We must note that George Higoumenakis was Greek and not Polish, as mentioned in Dorland's Medical Dictionary.] 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.

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

Bibliography

* Higoumenakis KG: Higoumenakis's sign and its significance for the diagnosis of congenital syphilis. Dermatol. Wochenschr. 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). [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01652813]