EOSINOPHILIC GRANLOMA OF BONE SYNONYMOUS WITH SCHÜLLERCHRISTIAN DISEASE, LIPID GRANULOMA, ESSENTIAL XANTHOMATOSIS OF NORMOCHOLESTEREMIC TYPE AND EOSINOPHILIC XANTHOMATOUS GRANULOMA

Abstract

To the Editor: —The reader of the article "Eosinophilic Granuloma of Bone: Report of a Case with Multiple Lesions of Bone and Pulmonary Infiltration", by A. Weinstein, H. C. Francis and B. F. Sprofkin, published in this journal (79:176 [Feb.] 1947) may become confused on the issue of whether "eosinophilic granuloma of the bone" is a newly discovered disease entity or whether it is a part of a systemic disorder formerly described under different designations such as "Schüller-Christian disease" (Rowland, 1928), "lipid granulomatosis" (by Chester, 1930, and Fraser, 1934) and "essential xanthomatosis of the normocholesteremic type" (Thannhauser and Magendantz, 1937). The following presentation illustrating historically the conception of the pathogenesis of the disease may contribute toward the clarification of some misunderstanding concerning its classification. Schüller described in 1915¹ "peculiar defects of the membraneous bones of the skull," referring later, in 1921,² to "a peculiar syndrome of dyspituitarism." Christian in 1919³ called attention to a clinical syndrome consisting in "defects in membraneous bones,