First recorded in Europe in the late 1400s, syphilis quickly spread throughout the world. A disease that slowly kills its victims, syphilis allows them enough time to spread it to others. It was not until the 19th century that syphilis was realized to be a sexually transmitted disease. Because syphilis was poorly understood, it became the subject of many myths and misconceptions, and people who suffered from the disease were often stigmatized. ""Syphilis, Second Edition"" looks at the disease from historical and epidemiological perspectives, describing the discovery of the bacterium that causes syphilis as well as the medical advances that shed light on how the disease spread, how that spread could be prevented, and the development of effective treatments. This revised edition contains new photographs and illustrations as well as updated statistics of syphilis rates in the United States. The chapters include: The Disease Called Syphilis; History and Folklore of Syphilis; Syphilis: From Plague to STD; Treponema: The Syphilis Organism; Prevention and Treatment of Syphilis; Epidemiology of Syphilis; Syphilis in Contemporary Society; and a Case Study in Syphilis Research.