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To the Editor: It seems that Dr. Szalay is disturbed about the nomenclature used in describing the three disorders in my article. He agrees with Elliot that the term subcutaneous fat necrosis seems adequate but that "preagonal induration" be substituted for sclerema neonatorum and "neonatal cold injury" for scleredema. Elliot suggested abandoning the term "sclerema" altogether. Szalay would like to use "sclerema" to encompass all three conditions. How this will contribute materially to the subject is hard to envisage. Certainly, more pediatricians, dermatologists, and pathologists are acquainted with the present nomenclature than with the terms suggested by Elliot and the correspondent. That "preagonal induration" and "neonatal cold injury" are more descriptive of the disease processes of sclerema neonatorum and scleredema, respectively, is debatable.
EDITOR'S COMMENT: We conclude that until we know for sure what causes each of these disorders (1) terminology will necessarily be descriptive, and (2) we'd all better