Popliteal Artery Thrombosis in Behçet's Syndrome. A New Manifestation of a Very Little Known Condition

In 1937 Behcet, professor of dermatology at the University of Istanbul, published the first of a series of papers in which he advocated that the triad of relapsing iritis, ulcers of mouth and ulcers of genitalia be considered as a disease entity (1, 2, 3). Since then there has been a tendency to associate his name with the condition. The next landmark appeared in 1946 when Jebejian and Kalfayan (4) reported a case in which they were able to make frequent ophthalmoscopic observations during recurring attacks of uveitis. As a result, it was concluded that the fundamental lesion of the ocular fundus was an inflammatory reaction involving the smallest veins, often accompanied by haemorrhage and at times complicated by a sudden thrombosis. In the same year Curth’s comprehensive review (5) of Beh~et’s disease appeared. She described a man of Italian parentage who showed the complete triad and a woman with ulcers of the mouth and genitalia but without eye lesions. A discussion of case reports containing manifestations other than those of the complete triad was included. We report another clinical case and draw attention to