Multiple myeloma

The basic features of multiple mye loma were first described between 1846 and 1850 by Dalrymple, Bence Jones and Macintyre, who also correlated the postmortem, urinary, and the clinical findings of the same cases.'2-3 In the ensuing half century, much was learned of the pathology of the disease and its clinical variations. Multiple myeloma is an excellent example of how further insight into disease is provided by the introduction of new techniques into medicine. The discovery of Roentgen rays in 1895 and the introduction of bone marrow aspiration by Arinkin in 1929 greatly increased the frequency with which the diagnosis of multiple myeloma was made. Tiselius intro duced serum electrophoresis in 1939, and Grabar and Williams described im munoelectrophoresis in 1954. These techniques and others have increased our understanding, as well as facili tated the diagnosis of multiple mye loma. In addition, new and useful forms of treatment for this disease have become available.