Vitiligo historical perspective

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Historical Perspective

  • Descriptions of human pigmentation diseases have been made since thousands years.
  • The first descriptions of what seems to be vitiligo were written approximately 3000 years ago in the Egyptian text Eber Papyrus[1] and in the Indian Vedic text Atharva Veda.[2]
  • The Indian text, the Charak Samhita (800 B.C), describes “spreading whiteness” using the Sanskrit word “svitra”.
  • The bible mentions a variety of skin diseases, such as leprosy, psoriasis and vitiligo, using one word: “Zara’at", which means "white spots".[3]
  • Celsus was the first to use the word "vitiligo" in his book De Medicina (100 A.C.).
  • The word "vitiligo" may have been derived from:
    • Vituli: white glistening of the flesh of calves
    • Vitelius: calf
    • VItum: blemish
    • Vitulum: small blemish

References

  1. Nair BK (1978). "Vitiligo--a retrospect". Int J Dermatol. 17 (9): 755–7. PMID 365814.
  2. Koranne RV, Sachdeva KG (1988). "Vitiligo". Int J Dermatol. 27 (10): 676–81. PMID 3069756.
  3. Goldman L, Moraites RS, Kitzmiller KW (1966). "White spots in biblical times. A background for the dermatologist for participation in discussions of current revisions of the bible". Arch Dermatol. 93 (6): 744–53. PMID 5326716.

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