Quick Facts
In full:
John Benjamin Murphy
Born:
Dec. 21, 1857, Appleton, Wis., U.S.
Died:
Aug. 11, 1916, Mackinac Island, Mich. (aged 58)
Subjects Of Study:
appendicitis
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

John B. Murphy

American surgeon
Also known as: John Benjamin Murphy

John B. Murphy (born Dec. 21, 1857, Appleton, Wis., U.S.—died Aug. 11, 1916, Mackinac Island, Mich.) was an American surgeon who was notable for his advances in abdominal surgery.

Murphy served as professor of surgery at Rush Medical College, Chicago (1905–08), and at the Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago (1901–05, 1908–16). He was a pioneer in recognizing the symptoms for appendicitis, and he strongly urged immediate removal of the appendix when this symptomatic pattern appeared. He also introduced (1892) the anastomosis (Murphy’s) button to join segments of the intestine without sutures.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.