| Peter B. Cotton | |
| Birth Place: | Herefordshire, England, UK |
| Nationality: | British |
| Alma Mater: | Cambridge University, Middlesex Hospital (residency) |
| Known For: | ERCP |
| Awards: | Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (2002) |
Peter B. 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 and creating the Digestive Disease Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.[2]
Cotton was born in England, where his father was a rural family physician. He was educated at Cambridge University and St. Thomas Hospital Medical School (London), where he graduated in 1963. 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. He moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 1994 to initiate and lead a Digestive Disease Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, dedicated to multi-disciplinary patient care, and the research and education needed to enhance it.
Cotton's bibliography includes over 900 publications, with more than 300 original contributions in peer-reviewed journals, and 10 books. “Practical Gastrointestinal Endoscopy” (co-authored by Christopher Williams) is the primary Gastrointestinal Endoscopy teaching text available in seven languages.