Hepatic veno-occlusive disease or sinusoidal obstruction syndrome was first described in 1905 as endophelibitis of the terminal hepatic veins. Ionizing radiations as a cause of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome was identified in the 1960’s and bone marrow transplant in the 1970’s. However, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome or hepatic veno-occlusive disease was a well-established concept by the mid-1960’s.

• Endophlebitis in the terminal hepatic venule was first described by a pathologist from Prague in 1905.^[1]
• In the 1960s, studies on the effects of hepatic vasculature by ionizing radiations were reported. ^[2][3]
• The concept of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome induced by either chemical or radiation toxicity was well established by mid-1960s as a separate entity from Budd-Chiari syndrome.^[4]
• The bone marrow transplant became the therapeutic option during the 1960’s and reports of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome or hepatic veno-occlusive disease emerged in the 1970’s.^[5]