Medical Myth of 'Cello Scrotum' Exposed

A top doctor who is also a member of Britain's House of Lords has admitted to a prank 34 years ago -- inventing an oddball medical condition called cello scrotum.

A top doctor who is also a member of Britain's House of Lords has admitted to a prank 34 years ago, inventing an oddball medical condition called "cello scrotum."

In May 1974, Elaine Murphy, now Baroness Murphy, joined with John Murphy in submitting a hoax letter to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), which often publishes correspondence from doctors about unusual cases.

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Their letter was in response to a doctor's missive about a condition called "guitar nipple."

It described a painful irritation among three young classical-guitar players, which happened when the edge of the guitar was pressed against the breast and eventually inflamed a nipple.

"We thought it highly likely to be a spoof, and decided to go one further by submitting a similar phenomenon in cellists," Murphy and Murphy admit in the latest issue of the BMJ.

"Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realise the physical impossibility of our claim. Somewhat to our astonishment, the letter was published."

Baroness Murphy is a former professor at Guy's and St. Thomas's hospital in London and is a member of an oversight board of Britain's National Health Service (NHS). She was made a life peer in 2004, and is active on mental health and ageing issues in the House of Lords.

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The 1974 letter was intentionally signed only by John Murphy, her husband at the time, as he was not a doctor and so would not get into trouble with medical watchdogs.

He is now chairman of a brewery in the eastern English county of Suffolk.

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The two admitted they had been dining out on the hoax for years, but decided it was time to confess when "cello scrotum" was cited as a reference in a paper about music-related disorders last month, a sign that an impossible condition was being taken seriously.

The affair has been light-heartedly dubbed "Scrotumgate" by the BMJ.

The original letter said: "Sir, Though I have not come across 'guitar nipple' as reported by Dr. P. Curtis, I did once come across a case of 'cello scrotum' caused by irritation from the body of the cello. The patient in question was a professional musician and played in rehearsal, practice, or concert for several hours each day. I am, etc., J.M. Murphy."

Source-AFP
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