Cullen's sign, also known as umbilical black eye, is superficial edema and bruising in the subcutaneous fatty tissue around the umbilicus.

It is named for gynecologist Thomas Stephen Cullen (1869–1953),[1] who first described the sign in ruptured ectopic pregnancy in 1916.

[2] This sign takes 24–48 hours to appear and can predict acute pancreatitis, with mortality rising from 8–10% to 40%.

It may be accompanied by Grey Turner's sign[3] (bruising of the flank), which may then be indicative of pancreatic necrosis with retroperitoneal or intra-abdominal bleeding.

Causes include: Importance of the sign is on a decline since better diagnostic modalities are now available.