Summary
The blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome first described by Bean (1956) is a rare disorder comprising angiomatous, histologically cavernous, blue naevi and analogous lesions of the intestine associated with enteric bleeding. There is evidence for autosomal inheritance of the condition (Walsheet al. 1966) but sporadic cases, probably representing new mutations, are considered commoner (Ather-ton and Rook, 1986). The syndrome has been reported from a number of different ethnic groups.