Whipple's disease is a systemic illness whose pathogenesis, which is still poorly understood, implies an infectious agent accessible to antibiotic therapy. The authors report a case which is made unusual by the manifold systemic manifestations, important eosinophilia and destructive nature of the joint lesions of the hips. The physiopathological mechanisms of ocular and cutaneous manifestations are considered. A dramatic improvement is obtained with tetracyclin.