The Early Report of Herpetic Whitlow by Baha ’ Al-Dawlah Razi in 15Th Century Ce Pubmed



Soleymani S¹ ; Tajik N² ; Karimi M³ ; Zargaran A^{1, 2} Show Affiliations
Source: Infezioni in Medicina Published:2020

Abstract

A herpetic whitlow is a lesion (whitlow) on a finger or thumb caused by herpes simplex virus. It is a painful infection that typically affects the fingers or thumbs. Occasionally infection occurs on the toes or on the nail cuticle. Symptoms of herpetic whitlow include tender-ness, swelling and reddening of the infected finger skin, fever and swollen lymph nodes. Although, it is believed that the first recorded observations were in 1909 CE by H. G. Adamson, in the medieval period, Baha’ al-Dawlah Nurbakhshi Razi (1501 CE) described herpetic whitlow, under the title of Da’khes in Khulasat al-Tajarib (The Summary of Experience), his book on medicine. Some of Baha’ al-Dawlah’s descriptions and his etiology of Da’khes are based on humoral theories and cannot be concurred with current medical con-cepts, but more symptoms and clinical manifestations are consistent with current definitions. It seems the earliest description of herpetic whitlow in the medical history. © 2020, EDIMES Edizioni Medico Scientifiche. All rights reserved.