Moritz Kaposi en zijn sarcoom

Nowadays, Kaposi sarcoma is a multidisciplinary condition, not only observed by dermatologists. Since the HIV epidemic in the 80s and 90s of the last century, more insight into the aetiology of Kaposi sarcoma has been acquired. However, this sarcoma had already been described in 1872 by a Hungarian dermatologist named Moritz Kaposi (1832-1902). Kaposi described the entity as ‘idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin’. This entity was an extraordinary diagnosis at that time, mostly observed in Jewish or Mediterranean men. In 1912, 10 years after the death of Moritz Kaposi, the entity name was changed to Kaposi sarcoma.

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.