HEREDOFAMILIAL diffuse polyposis of the colon presents a clinical entity which differs by its pathological and clinical characteristics from other forms of polyps occurring in the intestinal tract. Since this is not a common disease, only a small number of cases can be observed by a surgeon during his lifetime. The first description and recognition of the familial predisposition to this disease are accredited to Harrison Cripps, whose classical work was published in 1882. Dukes10 and Lockhart-Mummery15 later clarified and stressed its familial tendencies, distinguishing the condition under discussion from the acquired inflammatory type of the disease. They stated that it is a disease transmitted by both sexes and appears to be inheritable according to the Mendelian laws. Unlike similarly inherited conditions, such as hemophilia, familial polyposis is not found when a child is born, but develops at about the age of puberty or even later in life.