Venereology is a branch of
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
that is concerned with the study and treatment of
sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and or ...
s (STDs). The name derives from Roman goddess
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, associated with love, beauty and fertility. A physician specializing in venereology is called a ''venereologist''. In many areas of the world, the specialty is usually combined with
dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...
.
The venereal diseases include bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections. Some of the important diseases are
HIV infection,
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...
,
gonorrhea,
candidiasis,
herpes simplex,
human papillomavirus
Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the '' Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and r ...
infection, and
genital scabies. Other sexually transmitted infections studied in the field include
chancroid
Chancroid ( ) is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection characterized by painful sores on the genitalia. Chancroid is known to spread from one individual to another solely through sexual contact. However, there have been reports of accident ...
,
lymphogranuloma venereum
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV; also known as climatic bubo, Durand–Nicolas–Favre disease, poradenitis inguinale, lymphogranuloma inguinale, and strumous bubo) is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the invasive serovars L1, L2, L2a, L2 ...
,
granuloma inguinale
Granuloma inguinale is a bacterial disease caused by ''Klebsiella granulomatis'' (formerly known as ''Calymmatobacterium granulomatis'') characterized by genital ulcers. It is endemic in many less-developed regions. It is also known as donov ...
,
hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection.
Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...
, and
cytomegalovirus
''Cytomegalovirus'' (''CMV'') (from ''cyto-'' 'cell' via Greek - 'container' + 'big, megalo-' + -''virus'' via Latin 'poison') is a genus of viruses in the order '' Herpesvirales'', in the family '' Herpesviridae'', in the subfamily '' Betah ...
infection.
In India, formal training of venereologists started in 1910, prompting microscopy and serology to come into general use throughout the Empire. Before this, many cases of early syphilis were either diagnosed as chancroid or missed altogether. To come to a diagnosis, doubtful atypical cases were at times left untreated to see whether they developed secondary syphilis.
Five classical venereal diseases
In the early part of the twentieth century, the medical science of venereology encompassed only the five classical venereal diseases: gonorrhea, syphilis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale (
donovanosis).
The
history of virology shows that, in the first decade of the 20th century, viruses were not well understood.
References
External links
EADV – European Academy of Dermatology and VenereologyEuropean Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
Sexually transmitted diseases and infections
Medical specialties
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