Hutchinson-Tay choroiditis, Holthouse-Batten chorioretinitis, Doyne's honeycomb familial choroiditis and Malattia levantinese are various names which have been used to denote dominantly inherited drusen. Whether these represent one or more than one disorder remains unclear because of the quality of the illustrations and incomplete information in some of the original articles. The early descriptions of these various conditions have been reviewed. Evidence is presented that Doyne's honeycomb familial choroiditis and Malattia levantinese are disorders which can be distinguished from each other by clinical criteria.