IN 1934 van der Hoeve1 reported a new disease of the eye, which he called scleromalacia perforans. He concluded that the disease was a degenerative, rather than an infectious, process and that it usually accompanied rheumatoid arthritis. He accurately noted the early yellowish excrescences and the holes in the sclera which succeeded them, producing exposure of the uvea and the characteristic picture of the disease.
Occasional reports appeared after this, but they were so few that one must conclude that the disease is exceedingly rare. In 1938 Verhoeff and King2 collected 14 cases from the literature; on the basis of an analysis of these cases, with 1 of their own, they gave the first pathologic report of the condition. In their summary, they stated, "Histologically, in their initial state the scleral nodules are essentially similar to the subcutaneous nodules of rheumatoid arthritis." Since 1938, 1 case has been