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A 1926 woodcut warning of the disfiguring effects of syphilis.
A 1926 woodcut warning of the disfiguring effects of syphilis.
Syphilis is a gruesome malady. The causative agent, a corkscrew shaped bacterium, is sexually transmitted. It initially produces pustules which turn to ulcers, then a raft of other symptoms in its secondary phase, most notably a widespread and unsightly rash of varying severity.
In its tertiary stage, which can appear many years after initial infection, it can produce gross deformations of flesh and bone, or attack the central nervous system or heart. It can also be passed from mother to unborn child.
The variety of symptoms syphilis can present has led to the disease being known as the Great Imitator, as it can masquerade as a host of other illnesses and is often therefore misdiagnosed.
But it was not always thus. The modern disease is a very different beast than the monstrosity which first appeared in Europe at the end of the fifteenth century.
Comment: Looks like someone has been paying attention to the alarming number of space rocks in our skies recently: