McBurney's point

1 9.8

A spot on the lower right belly between the hip bone and the belly button, often painful in appendicitis

noun
/mɪkˈbɜrniːz pɔɪnt/

Specialized

: punto de McBurney

Tenderness at McBurney's point is a classic clinical sign in the diagnosis of appendicitis.

Examples

A patient complaining of pain at McBurney's point may be suffering from acute appendicitis.
The doctor examined McBurney's point for tenderness.
The doctor pressed gently on the McBurney's point to check for signs of appendicitis.
Where is McBurney's point?
A patient complaining of pain at McBurney's point may be suffering from acute appendicitis.
Tenderness at McBurney's point is a classic clinical sign in the diagnosis of appendicitis.
The doctor pressed gently on the McBurney's point to check for signs of appendicitis.

Surface Forms

McBurney's point singular

Morphology

McBurney's + point

This is an eponymous phrase comprising a proper name (McBurney's) plus 'point', so a learner who knows the words can infer it denotes a specific location associated with McBurney. However, the precise anatomical location and its clinical significance (the site of greatest tenderness in acute appendicitis) are specialized and not derivable from the constituents, so the phrase is only partially transparent.

Etymology

McBurney's point is named after a doctor called McBurney who noticed a small spot on the lower right belly that often hurts in 'appendicitis'. The spot is about one third of the way from the hip bone to the belly button, and doctors press it to check for 'appendicitis'.