Whence 'zoster'? The convoluted classical origins of a sometimes illogical term.
Med Humanit
; 43(1): 15-18, 2017 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27521291
ABSTRACT
The term 'zoster' is nowadays associated with 'herpes zoster', the condition resulting from reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus which causes shingles. But in antiquity the meaning of 'zoster', a Latin word originating from the Greek for a belt or girdle, was variously associated in men with a form of body armour which could enclose just one half of the body; in women with a garment worn around the waist and sometimes called a 'zona'; and with a place, Zoster, linked mythologically then with the goddess Leto and her zona. Around 48 AD, the Roman physician Scribonius Largus became the first to associate 'zona' with 'herpes', and to attribute a medical meaning to 'zona', here an abbreviation of 'zona ignea' ('fiery girdle'). Although in the past the terms 'zoster' and 'zona' were sometimes used interchangeably, today only 'zoster' remains-even when etymologically illogical in those patients whose zoster rash occurs in body areas other than the trunk.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Herpes Zoster
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Idioma
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Terminologia como Assunto
Limite:
Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Med Humanit
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article