herpes

Term: herpes

Literally meaning: creeping

Origin: Anc Greek

έρπω/herpo(=creep, crawl) cognate with Latin serpēns serpent bacause of the general  behavior when a virus is spread to another.

Coined/History

By Hippocrates (460 BC – ca. 370) in order to describe lesions that appeared to creep along the skin. Herpes labialis or fever blisters” were the first described by a Roman physician Herodotus. Over the centuries, the term was used to describe a variety of skin ailments from what we know today as lupus to a variety of viral, fungal or parasitic infections. The first link between herpes and the genital organs was published in 1736 by John Astruc, physician for King Louis XIV of France and the first book dedicated to herpes was written in 1896 by  French dermatologist Dr Alfred Fournier.

Definition

Herpes is the name for the viral infection caused by both the oral type or Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) and genital type or type 2 (HSV-2).