Whipple's disease is a rare disease caused by the bacteria Thropheryma whipplei . It is characterised by arthritis, malabsorption, and a number of other symptoms, most notably intestinal lipodystrophy (accumulation of fatty deposits in lymph nodes of the intestine).
It was first described by George Hoyt Whipple in 1907: Whipple GH. A hitherto undescribed disease characterized anatomically by deposits of fat and fatty acid in the intestinal and mesenteric lymphatic tissues. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp 1907;18:382-93.