The long road to syphilitic leg ulcers

Syphilis appeared in Europe literally from one day to the next. At that time, it was very different from the disease we know today. In one of the very first descriptions by Josef Grünpeck, talk is of fearsome black cones and small horns with a pestilent stench, which grow on the face, and of cruel b...

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Published inPhlebologie (Stuttgart, Germany) Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 82 - 88
Main Authors W. Hach, J. Dissemond, V. Hach-Wunderle
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
German
Published Schattauer Verlag für Medizin und Naturwissenschaften 2013
Subjects
chancre
Columbus’s voyage of discovery
Leg ulcers
rupia
syphilis
Ulcus cruris
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Summary:Syphilis appeared in Europe literally from one day to the next. At that time, it was very different from the disease we know today. In one of the very first descriptions by Josef Grünpeck, talk is of fearsome black cones and small horns with a pestilent stench, which grow on the face, and of cruel bone pains, causing those afflicted to wish only for death. The constant warfare and social circumstances in the 16th century led to an epidemic that spread rapidly from Spain via Naples, before finally overrunning the whole of Europe. The consequences fundamentally impacted on the cultural life of people in all walks of life. Today, there is a vast literature in which doctors have given the disease a great deal of consideration. Thereby, the focus on syphilitic leg ulcers represents just one tiny detail.
ISSN:0939-978X
DOI:10.12687/phleb2131_2_3013