Medical Dictionary

Letterer-Siwe disease

noun Let·ter·er-Si·we disease \ ˈlet-ər-ər-ˈsē-və- \

medical Definition of Letterer-Siwe disease

: an acute often fatal disease of young children that is marked by proliferation of Langerhans cells and is characterized esp. by fever, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, and a eczematous skin rash

Biographical Note for letterer-siwe disease

Letterer, Erich (1895–1982), German physician. Letterer first described Letterer-Siwe disease in 1924. The author of several textbooks on pathology, he described the disease from the viewpoint of a pathologist.

Siwe, Sture August (1897–1966), Swedish pediatrician. Siwe presented another, independent description of Letterer-Siwe disease in 1933, this time from the clinical point of view.