[Chronic relapsing polychondritis. Clinical characteristics].

Some imperfectly known clinical aspects of polychondritis chronica atrophicans (relapsing polychondritis), as extracted from a series of 12 cases, are presented. The osteoarticular lesions are sometimes unusual, involving the temporomandibular or cervical articulations, and the renal lesions may be severe. Pericarditis seems to be more frequent than usually mentioned in the literature. Pulmonary complications are not always those which are classically associated with lesions of the tracheo-bronchial cartilages. Haematological manifestations are not uncommon and must be taken into account when evaluating the prognosis of the disease.