Between Fracastoro, Fernel, and Helmont: the Origin and Dynamics of Development of Epidemics of Syphilis in Medical Literature of the 16th and 17th Centuries

Abstract

The paper compares ideas and theories on the origin and development of the syphilitic epidemics in works of three prominent early modern physicians: Girolamo Fracastoro (De contagione), Jean Fernel (De abditis rerum causis), and Johannes van Helmont (Tumultus pestis).

Keywords

• syphilis
• early modern period
• medical theories
• Jean Fernel
• Girolamo Fracastoro
• Johannes van Helmont