Brief history of syphilis

Abstract

Before the discovery of Treponema pallidum as the etiologic agent, the origins of syphilis have been the subject of several debates. Diverse therapeutic agents were employed in an attempt to cure the disease. Examining the milestones in the history of syphilis, the present article reviews the existing theories that tried to explain the origins of the disease, the approach in art, the cultural and the evolution of the treatments from the empiric means to the discovery of penicillin.

Keywords: history of syphilis; syphilis; syphilis treatment.

Fig. 1

A mercenary whose skin presents multiple chancres, woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, 1496 –published in a Romanian book in 1933 []

Fig. 2

Saint Mary and the Holy Child punishing the sufferers of syphilis, woodcut, 1496 []

Fig. 3

Depiction of a man in a fumigation stove, engraving by Jacques Laniet, Paris, 1659, as published in a Romanian book in 1933 []

Fig. 4

Guaiacum officinale (guaiac tree), used widely for the treatment of syphilis []

Fig. 5

The laboratory in which famous 606 compound was invented []