In 1868 and 1873, Verneuil1 first directed attention to the occasional tendency of syphilis to involve bursae either as the sole evidence of the disease or as part of the clinical ensemble. Since the meager literature on syphilitic bursopathy is out of proportion to its relative frequency and nonrecognition, two recent examples of this condition have prompted a résumé of previous reports and a review of the chief clinical features.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
It is remarkable that the four original cases of syphilitic bursopathy reported by Verneuil involved the extensor tendons of the hand distal to the annular ligament, for, with a few notable exceptions, all subsequently reported cases have involved the bursae about the elbows and knees, particularly the latter location. In 1876, the elder Keyes collected fourteen cases, which were subsequently incorporated in Churchman's2 paper which appeared in 1909.
Churchman analyzed twenty-seven established cases,