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GEORGE BOGARDUS, M.D.; J. GARROTT ALLEN, M.D.; LEON O. JACOBSON, M.D.; CHARLES L. SPURR, M.D.

Arch Surg. 1949;58(1):16-27.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

IDIOPATHIC thrombopenic purpura is a symptom complex characterized by petechial hemorrhages, thrombopenia, impaired clot retraction and prolonged bleeding time. Widespread internal hemorrhages may occur and cause the death of the patient. The symptom complex is frequently encountered, but the more seriously affected patients are comparatively rare.

Although Werlhof¹ is generally considered as having described this disease first, in 1775, it was Brohm² who, in 1883, first observed thrombopenia in a case of purpuric disease. It has been assumed that Werlhof's patient had thrombopenia; hence, the disease bears his name. Interest has centered chiefly on the role of blood platelets in this disease.

The existence of platelets was recognized by several workers in the early nineteenth century, but for many years their existence as real or as artificial blood elements was in controversy. It was the result of the collective researches of Zimmerman,³ Schultze,⁴ Osler,⁵ Bizzozero . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
CHICAGO

From the Departments of Surgery and Medicine, University of Chicago.

Footnotes
This work has been aided by a grant from the Douglas Smith Foundation for Medical Research, of the University of Chicago.

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