Hampton’s Hump
Other Known Aliases – none
Definition – wedge-shaped opacity in the periphery of the lung on chest radiography usually with its base along the pleural margins.
Clinical Significance – Occurs as a result of infarction and subsequent hemorrhage from the bronchial arteries classically due to a pulmonary embolism, but can also be from anything that causes infarction of lung parenchyma. The sensitivity and specificity of this finding is not robust and is, by definition, a late finding that is really no longer seen in modern medicine.
History – Named after Aubrey Otis Hampton (1900-1955), an American radiologist who received his medical degree from Baylor University in 1925. He rose through the ranks quickly in the field of radiology ultimately taking a position as chief of radiology at Massachussetts General in 1941. He first described his eponymous finding in 1940 in his manuscript entitled “Correlation of postmortem chest teleroentgenograms with autopsy findings”.
References
- Firkin BG and Whitwirth JA. Dictionary of Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. New York, NY; Parthenon Publishing Group. 1996.
- Bartolucci S, Forbis P. Stedman’s Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD; LWW. 2005.
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Yee AJ, Pfiffner P. (2012). Medical Eponyms (Version 1.4.2) [Mobile Application Software]. Retrieved http://itunes.apple.com.
- Whonamedit – dictionary of medical eponyms. http://www.whonamedit.com
- Up To Date. www.uptodate.com
- Radiopaedia. Hamptons’ Hump. https://radiopaedia.org/articles/hampton-hump-2
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Schatzki R, Lingley JR. Aubrey O. Hampton, 1900-1955. The American journal of roentgenology, radium therapy, and nuclear medicine. 1956; 75(2):396-7. [pubmed]
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Ladeiras-Lopes R, Neto A, Costa C, et al. Hampton’s hump and Palla’s sign in pulmonary embolism. Circulation. 2013; 127(18):1914-5. [pubmed]
- Hampton AO, Castleman B. Correlation of postmortem chest teleroentogenograms with autopsy findings. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther. 1940;34:305-326.
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