Cotton (born 1939) is a British gastroenterologist[1] best known for his advancement in digestive disease, pioneering and naming the Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure[citation needed] and creating the Digestive Disease Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.
He was educated at Cambridge University and St. Thomas Hospital Medical School (London), where he graduated in 1963.
[citation needed] In 1986, he left England to become Professor of Medicine and Chief of Endoscopy at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
He developed a state of the art endoscopy center there while also maintaining his interests in teaching, new techniques, and careful outcome evaluation.
[citation needed] Cotton's bibliography includes over 900 publications, with more than 300 original contributions in peer-reviewed journals, and 10 books.