Sarcoidosis, a multisystem granulomatous disease, was first described by Sir Jonathan
Hutchinson in 1878.63 Other early investigators described a variety of eponym-bearing
syndromes without realizing their common origin. In 1899, Cesar Boeck6 identified the
unifying attribute for those conditions when he determined that noncaseating granulomatous
inflammation was the pathologic hallmark of sarcoidosis. He found no microorganisms, and
postulated that the cause of the disease was defective blood formation or autointoxication. In …