Physiological Studies of the Peripheral Circulation in a Patient with Quincke's Disease *

Hereditary angioneurotic edema (HANE), or chronic familial giant urticaria, has been recognized since the earliest descriptions by Quincke (1) and Osier (2) as an entity distinct from other urticarial conditions. The diagnosis may be made with reasonable security by the association of a characteristic clinical pattern of recurrent, acute transitory swellings of the skin, often with gastrointestinal symptoms or life-threatening laryngeal edema, and a familial history indicating its inheritance as an autosomal dominant. Failure of anti-allergic drugs to influence the episodes and absence of any evidence for an allergic causation further distinguish the disorder.