It has been the custom of the Chicago Dermatological Society to penalize the retiring president to the extent that his "swan song" shall consist of a paper on some subject of dermatologic interest. Conforming to that custom, I offer the following remarks on the etiology of eczema. It might be well here to ask the indulgence of the Society and its friends for taking up their time with a discussion on such a commonplace subject. My only excuse for so doing is that since the selection of the subject is left to the victim I can say that I know of no other dermatosis that plays such a large part in the life of the dermatologist nor one an adequate explanation of which would have a greater influence on his conceptions of many cutaneous diseases. With the controversy over the relative merits of the terms dermatitis and eczema I shall