[Perspectives] Syphilis

For early modern physicians syphilis was “the great imitator”, a disease that mystified with the sheer range of its symptoms and the length of time it might take to show itself. Syphilis was first recorded in Europe in the mid-1490s, and the coincidence with Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the New World led contemporary physician s (along with more recent archaeologists and historians) to conclude that his sailors had brought the disease back with them.
Source: LANCET - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research