LIPEDEMA OF THE LEGS: A SYNDROME CHARACTERIZED BY FAT LEGS AND EDEMA*

Excerpt

There is little in the literature on abnormal localized depositions of body fat to clarify the syndrome of lipedema of the legs which two of us (E. V. A. and E. A. H.) described in 1940.¹ Confusion and uncertainty, both manifested in an extensive article by Lyon² in 1910, are demonstrated by the use of such terms as "oedeme hystérique" and "pseudo-edema." We are not concerned in this presentation with the type of lipodystrophy (lipodystrophia progressiva) which is generally felt to be characterized by loss of subcutaneous fat of the upper half of the body and increased deposition of fat