Periarteritis nodosa is more of a pathologic than a clinical entity, and the diagnosis is more frequently made after the autopsy than at the bedside.
Our experience with this condition has led us to the conclusion that it is a manifestation of clinical allergy of so severe a degree that irreversible and destructive lesions occur in the blood vessels and lead to disturbances in the function of the organs supplied by the involved vessels. This opinion is based on the study of the following cases, a review of the literature and an experimental study of induced allergic reactions in man.
REPORT OF CASES
Case 1.—
I. M., a woman, aged 25, was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital complaining of pains in the arms and legs, swelling of the wrist, elbow and knee joints, itchy red spots on the legs and arms, and asthmatic attacks. The asthmatic attacks had been recurring