Lymphedema-distichiasis (LD) is a dominantly inherited syndrome with onset of lymphedema at or just after puberty. Most affected individuals have distichiasis-fine hairs arising inappropriately from the eyelid meibomian glands-which is evident from birth. A study of three families with LD has shown linkage to chromosome 16q24.3, and subsequent analysis of the region for recombinant genes places the locus between D16S422 and D16S3074, a distance of approximately 16 cM. Possible candidate genes in this interval include the N-proteinase for type 3 collagen, PCOLN3; the metalloprotease PRSM1; and the cell matrix-adhesion regulator, CMAR.