It is the purpose of this paper to present a case of poikilodermatomyositis with a complete postmortem examination, as such reports are relatively rare, especially in the American literature. In 1906 G. Petges and Cléjat1described a disease which they termed "atrophic sclerosis of the skin and generalized myositis." In 1929, after observing additional cases and noting similarities to the cutaneous lesions described by Jacobi2and designated "poikilodermia atrophicans vascularis," G. Petges3gave the condition the name "poikilodermatomyositis." The subject of the poikilodermas in general and of poikilodermatomyositis in particular has been thoroughly reviewed by G. Petges and A. Petges.4They distinguished three forms of poikiloderma: (1) a purely cutaneous form; (2) poikilodermatomyositis, a form associated with generalized myositis, and (3) poikilodermatomyositis accompanied by subcutaneous calcareous concretions. In their article Petges and Petges recorded 29 reported instances of poikilodermatomyositis. In 4 of these the condition was