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(Radiology. 1999;211:292.)
© RSNA, 1999

Letters to the Editor

Whose Aunt Minnie?

Kimberly E. Applegate, MD and Duncan V. B. Neuhauser, PhD

Division of Pediatric Radiology, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio

Editor:

The term "Aunt Minnie" describes an imaging finding that is both perfectly obvious and pathognomonic of a disease (1,2).

We have tried to answer the question of who coined the term by asking the family of the late Dr Edward B. Neuhauser. Gernda Neuhauser, his wife, is certain that he had no aunt or relative named Minnie. However, she believes that the term was adopted by her late husband from the lore of New England. It may have been a local phrase with special meaning, similar to "Uncle Charlie" or "Uncle Ben." Regardless of its origin, it remains a useful descriptor in the practice of radiology today.

A well-known example occurred approximately 4 years ago in the radiology department at Boston Children's Hospital. A pediatrician was consulted for a second opinion regarding a 4-year-old child who was thought to have been battered. He brought the radiologist a skeletal survey. The radiologist looked at the survey and said, "This is leukemia." Startled, the clinician protested that the complete blood cell count was normal. The radiologist replied, "What can I say? It's an Aunt Minnie!" Several weeks later, a repeat complete blood cell count was abnormal and the child was symptomatic with leukemia.

References

  1. Teele RL, Griscom NT. Aunt Minnie (letter). Radiology 1998; 208:829-830.[Medline]
  2. Berlin L. Aunt Minnie's atlas and imaging-specific diagnosis (book review). Radiology 1997; 204:278.[Free Full Text]



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