Meigs' Syndrome: Dr. Richard Cabot's Hidden First American Case

Abstract

The syndrome known most widely as “Meigs' syndrome” is so named as a result of the description of it by Dr. Joe V. Meigs (a gynecologist with a strong interest in pathology) and Dr. John W. Cass (an internist with a major interest in pulmonary disease) in 1937. In his final writings on the topic 17 years later, Dr. Meigs reviewed the literature prior to his first report in more detail than he had initially and credited appropriately those who had noted the association of ovarian fibromatous tumors, ascites and pleural effusion in earlier times. He did not, however, record the description of the association by the great physician, Dr. Richard C. Cabot in 1912 even though they worked in the same hospital and the case in question was one of those that formed the basis of the report of Meigs and Cass.