Alphée Cazenave and Lupus Erythematosus

To the Editor:—  I read with interest your editorial on Cazenave (JAMA185:1038 [Sept 28] 1963), in which you mention that the expression "lupus erythematosus" first appeared in the literature in the Annales des Maladies de la Peau et de la Syphilis of 1851.Actually, in the library of the University of Leiden there is a publication issued one year before that date which describes a clinical conference held by Cazenave, in which he uses the expression lupus erythematosus and gives a vivid description of the disorder. The paper, "Formes du lupus et son traitement," appeared in the Lancette française, Gazette des Hôpitaux (23:354 [July] 1850). The paper, apparently written by someone who attended the demonstration, was signed only with the letter Z.After discussing Biett's three types of lupus, Cazenave added a variety "which is rather rare and until now incompletely described and wrongly classified." Biett had