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| William Forsyth Milroy, M.D. |
William Forsyth Milroy, M.D., a professor of histology and pathology at the Omaha Medical College/University of Nebraska College of Medicine in the late 19th and early 20th century, is the only UNMC faculty member to have a disease named for him.
“Milroy Disease” is described as chronic congenital or familial lymphedema of the limbs due to inadequate lymph flow through an anatomically abnormal lymphatic system.
The condition manifests itself with pitting and painless brawny swellings (lymphedema) of the ankles and shins.
Dr. Milroy became synonymous with the condition after his work “An Undescribed Variety of Hereditary Edema,” appeared in the New York Medical Journal in November 1892.
Although a European doctor had written about the same disorder a year earlier, the condition became commonly known as “Milroy Disease” after Sir William Osler gave it that name in his textbook.
Dr. Milroy was affiliated with the College of Medicine from 1884 through 1933. He died in 1942 in Los Angeles.