In the 1960s, Ben Felson, MD, a radiologist at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, coined the term "Aunt Minnie" to indicate a classic, obvious imaging pattern that instantly identifies a specific diagnosis, like recognizing your own relative.
"If it looks like your Aunt Minnie, then it is your Aunt Minnie," he's reported to have said.
So when Phil Berman, MD, founded AuntMinnie.com in 1999, he chose the term as the site's name -- in part because it was memorable and in part because it would give a nod to Felson and the concept of a distinctive finding.
Twenty-six years in, AuntMinnie.com continues to provide news, clinical reporting, and education to radiologists, technologists, residents, and industry professionals. But what do younger radiologists, residents -- those who consider themselves Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) -- make of the phrase? We interviewed radiologists in various stages of training and practice to get some answers.
Alejandro Garces-Descovich, MD, is a breast imaging attending at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. He learned of the phrase "Aunt Minnie" during his residency in diagnostic radiology at ChristianaCare while he was studying for the boards.
Azfar Basunia, MD, is a fourth-year resident at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who will pursue a fellowship in neuroradiology. He hosts his own medical/educational channel on YouTube.
"Young radiologists continue to relate to the term 'Aunt Minnie,' although fewer and fewer diagnoses meet that criteria as we continually discover and expand our understanding of new and known diseases," he said.
Kirby Parker, MD, is a PGY-5/R4 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He first heard the phrase in reference to a Pellegrini-Stieda lesion when he was a medical student on radiology rotation, and it piqued his interest.
Kirby Parker, MD
"I heard the attendings and residents using the term, but initially I had no clue what it meant," he told AuntMinnie. "I was able to gather the definition fairly quickly from context clues before someone explained it to me. Now that I'm a resident, I use the term at least weekly, and I think it is a great, succinct way of describing a radiographically pathognomonic process."
Mary Madison Snyder is a third-year medical student, also at the University of Mississippi, and actually identifies as Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012). Even though she hasn't yet selected a medical specialty, like Parker, she was introduced to the phrase "Aunt Minnie" during a radiology rotation.
"It's a fun analogy," she said.
