Waardenburg syndrome: a report of three cases.

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a rare autosomally inherited and genetically heterogeneous disorder of neural crest cell development with distinct cutaneous manifestations. Based on the clinical presentations, four subtypes of the disease are recognized. A careful clinical evaluation is required to differentiate various types of WS and other associated auditory-pigmentary syndromes. We describe a case series of WS to highlight the wide spectrum of manifestations of the syndrome including a rare association.

The cyclopes in Odysseus' Apologos.

In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus narrates the lifestyle and behavior of the Cyclopes. They were no larger than life-sized figures and lived in a land rich in natural products but cultivated nothing. They dwelled in caves, and their sociopolitical system was based on the family unit. There were no interfamilial congregations, institutions, or laws. They had no ships, nor were there any craftsmen who might build ships to visit the cities of other men. Perhaps the land of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey may have represented a place somewhat like the hospitals or islands which were used to isolate patients with leprosy. Otherwise, we can follow Thucydides' opinion: let it suffice, as the story has been told by poets, and each man has formed his own opinion about them.