THROMBOPENIC PURPURA

HEREDITARY thrombopenic purpura has been the subject of considerable controversy. The standard textbooks mention the possibility of such a diathesis without definitely accepting its existence. Quick 1 stated: Although the suggestion has been made that there may be an hereditary or constitutional disposition to the disease (primary thrombocytopenic purpura), a careful study of the literature does not bear this out. However, Hess 2 in 1916 reported 3 cases of purpura from different families who showed low thrombocyte counts and gave a history of purpura in other members of the family. Unfortunately, he gave no laboratory data on the other members of the families. Glanzmann 3 in 1918 reviewed the entire subject of purpura. From his clinical observations and experiments he concluded that there is a hereditary hemorrhagic diathesis which affects both females and males, in contrast to hemophilia. In 1932, Witts 4 reported on three families who showed a hereditary