PEDIATRICS Vol. 48 No. 5 November 1971, pp. 794
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DID HENOCH DESCRIBE KOPLIK'S SPOTS BEFORE KOPLIK?

T. E. C. Jr. M.D.

Koplik (1858-1927) is usually given credit for being the first (1896) to note and report the labial and buccal mucosal spots which are an important early sign of measles.1

But Henoch (1820-1910), a pioneer in German pediatrics, and for many years the Director of the Department of Children's Diseases in the Royal Charité Hospital, Berlin, also described the clinical findings in the mouth during the prodromal stage of measles as follows:

In most cases, after the second day, you observe a rash on the hard and soft palate, especially in children who are strong and plethoric. The rash is either diffuse, with dark spots over it; or less commonly, the mucous membrane as a whole is still pale and presents more or less punctiform and stellate red patches. The former of these almost always precedes the eruption of measles.2

I found this observation in the fourth edition of Henoch's splendid textbook, published in 1889; quite likely the same description would also be found in the first edition, published in 1881.

Koplik's description of: "Small irregular spots of bright red color, in the center of each red spot is seen a minute bluish-white speck . . . on the buccal and labial mucous membrane . . ." is more vivid than Henoch's.

But didn't Henoch describe the prodromal enanthem of measles before Koplik?