Von Recklinghausen's disease and melanoma of the uvea.

In I882 Professor von Recklinghausen, Director of the Institute of Pathology at our University published his original work. "Ober die multiplen Fibrome der Haut und ihre Beziehung zu den multiplen Neuromen". Since that time neurofibromatosis, which bears his name, has been the subject of many reports; in addition to the cutaneous lesions characterized by multiple neuromata and cafi au lait spots, numerous other manifestations have been described. Our understanding of these clinical features has been clarified by the work of Masson (I926), Director of the same Institute, and of Oberling (I922), his associate professor from I919 to I926. The former showed the close relationship between Schwann cells and dermal melanoblasts and the latter recognized the nature of the meningoblast as homologous to the Schwann cell. In most cases the neurofibromatosis of von Recklinghausen becomes a disease of the schwannian system, but the neoplasia of the nervous system proper still requires to be explained. Fig. i shows that, if the Schwann cells and pigment cells arise from the neural crest, this derives from the primitive neuroectoderm, which also gives rise to the other neural elements. When development extends beyond the cells of Schwann-though this is relatively rare-any differentiation of the neuroectoderm can result.