[Benign rheumatoid nodules. Report of 4 cases]

Benign rheumatoid nodules are subcutaneous nodules morphologically and histologically identical to the ones appearing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. They usually happen in healthy people without neither clinical nor serologic manifestations of any rheumatic illness. These nodules are more usual in children and they are considered exceptional beyond the age of eighteen. In the literature, only two hundred cases in children and twenty five cases in adults have been properly documented, with histological confirmation. We report four new cases of benign rheumatoid nodules histologically proved, two children and two adults, and we confirm the optimistic prognosis of these patients.