Acrodermatisis enteropathical has had a remarkable hist orical course beginning only 35 years ago, first passing through a period of empiric management with the 8-hydroxyquinoline drugs and culminating with the discovery of a biochemical effect in zinc absorption. This accomplishment has not only resulted in the cure of a serious and often fatal disease, but has opened the way to an understanding of the vital role played by the trace element zinc in many previously unrecognized areas of human physiology.