| Date | 1761 |
| Author | Astruc |
| Contribution | Reported, but dismissed, the theories of others concerning causation of syphilis by invisible living things. |
| Reference | Kobler |
| Notes | Kobler (in The Reluctant Surgeon, Doubleday,1960) quotes Astruc without giving source, but source is here presumed to be Astruc's multi-volume treatise of diseases of women, published 1761-1765. Quote: "There are some, however, whom I forbear to spend time in imputing, such as Augustus Hauptmann and Christian Langius, who think that the Venereal Poison is nothing else but a numerous School of little nimble, brisk invisible living things, of a very prolific nature, which when once admitted, increase and multiply in Abundance; which lead frequent Colonies to different Parts of the Body; and inflame, erode, and exulcerate the Parts they fix on; in short, which without any regard had to the particular Quality of any Humor, occasion all the Symptoms that occur in the Venereal Disease...". Kobler says Astruc dismissed the concept as fantastic. See Hauptmann. |
| Category | Causation |
| Pathogen Class | General |
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