Sarcoids and Related Lesions

With Boeck's1description of the sarcoids, a morphologic entity was admittedly established. It soon became apparent, however, that his conception of the eruption was not sufficiently inclusive, as evidenced by the acceptance of a subcutaneous type referred to as the Darier-Roussy type. Later, Darier2classified sarcoids into four types. As experience with these nodular lesions grew it became apparent that a sharp dividing line could not be drawn, except that Darier's type 4 has been rather definitely eliminated from this group since it probably is a lymphoblastomatous disease. Both Boeck and Darier believed the sarcoids to be tuberculous in origin. Further study contributed much evidence to this belief, but it also indicated that other nodular cutaneous lesions, for example, lupus pernio3(not the chilblain lupus of Hutchinson) and erythema induratum, were closely related to the sarcoids, so much so that Lewandowsky4and Kyrle5have coined