Over thirty-five years ago Boeck1 reported a nodular eruption appearing in a man to which he gave the name "sarkoid." Max Joseph had previously proposed the name, and it had been applied loosely by Kaposi2 in 1895 to include mycosis fungoides, the leukemias, sarcomatosis cutis and hemorrhagic and melanotic sarcomas. Boeck believed the clinical and histologic appearance of the lesions to be unique and readily differentiated from other granulomas and neoplasms.
Sarcoid retained its identiy for a short time, although its relationship to sarcoma and tuberculosis made it one of the most unsatisfactory subjects in the entire domain of dermatology.
In 1906 Darier and Roussy3 described sarcoid of the hypoderm, affecting the adipose tissue, differentiating it from the Boeck type, which affected the corium. They considered both processes to be tuberculids, but perusal of their investigations reveals that their evidence was hypothetic and inclusive. It