Thirty-four years after the fact, a British physician who is now a member of the House of Lords has confessed to fabricating a disease called "cello scrotum" and getting its details published in the prestigious British Medical Journal.

The "disease" was ostensibly characterized by chafing of the scrotum when the instrument was placed between a cellist's legs.

In a follow-up letter to the journal published Thursday, Baroness Elaine Murphy confessed that she and her husband, John, had concocted their report after reading about "guitarist's nipple," which they thought was also a hoax, in the journal.

That disorder, which is apparently real, is characterized by inflammation caused when the instrument is repeatedly pushed against the chest.