Girolamo Fracastoro

Girolamo Fracastoro (Verona, March 17, 1478-Affi, August 8, 1553) was an Italian doctor and scholar. He wrote two books of high interest in the history of medicine: one is a poem to report on a horrible new disease in Europe, syphilis; The other book, even more important, is De contagionibus, which provides a nascent theory about the contagion of diseases, and is considered the first text that talks about this in the history of medicine. A renowned doctor, Fracastoro belonged completely to the Italian Renaissance and classical humanism. He had a desire for new discoveries, as, for example, in astronomy, where it could be said in a limited way that he anticipated Copernicus. He also made contributions to medical aspects of botany.

Biography

Girolamo Fracastoro was born in the Venetian city of Verona in 1478. He studied law in Bologna before entering the University of Padua, around 1501. At that prestigious university, Fracastoro studied mathematics and philosophy, as well as medicine, and obtained the degree in the year 1502. He was a professor for just over a year, but then he retired to Verona to practice medicine, achieving success and recognition.

Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus

Among the many illnesses that Fracastoro treated, there was one that seemed new. Horrible in most of its symptoms, it was talked about throughout Europe, but with different names: & # 34; bad French & # 34; or the "Neapolitan itch" among others. Throughout the XVI century, a common term was already used, "French evil". Fracastoro called this disease syphilis, but this name did not become common until the beginning of the 19th century.

Fracastoro published in 1530, Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus, a work dedicated to Cardinal Pietro Bembo, a well-known scholar and papal secretary. The poem has 3 books. In the first, Fracastoro describes the beginnings of the disease and the confusion it caused. The second deals with the various treatments. The third text is the allegorical story of a shepherd named Syphilus, who for worshiping a worldly king, receives punishment from the sun god. Consequently he suffers from the disease. The poem was translated into several languages and published in more than 100 editions. Its extensive distribution testified to the prevalence and severity of the disease.

De contagione et contagiosis morbis

Francastoro's other great book is De contagione et contagiosis morbis, published in 1546. It is an insightful comparison of observation and reasoning. His theory offers three interrelated possibilities for explaining the nature of disease contagion in general. First, the disease can be transmitted by direct contact. The second possibility is through what he called "fomes". These are infection vectors that host the essential seed of the contagion and cause the infection. The third category is remote transmission.

Recent years

Famous and celebrated for his academic activities, Fracastoro was honored by princes and sought after by clerics. For a time, Pope Paul III appointed him medicus ordinarius, so he recommended moving the Council of Trent to Bologna, in order to avoid a plague epidemic. But Fracastoro soon returned to his city, where he died of a heart attack on August 8, 1553, at the age of 75. Within two years, the Veronese honored him with a stone monument located in the Plaza de los Señores.

Eponymy

• Fracastorius' lunar crater bears this name in his memory.