Syphilis In Europe. A woman in bed and a man sitting on a stool are...

Syphilis In Europe. A woman in bed and a man sitting on a stool are covered with venereal disease lesions. The physician standing next to the bed is holding up a urine flask for analysis; another physician is applying a mercury salve to the man's legs. 1498 woodcut was made shortly after the first recorded outbreak of syphilis in 1494 among French troops besieging Naples. Modern theory proposes that syphilis was carried from the New World to Europe after Columbus' voyages where it mutated into a more deadly form among the previously unexposed Europeans. Syphilis was a major killer in Europe for fifty years until it evolved into it current milder form