John B. 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.