Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 716

GIOVANNI COSIMO BONOMO (1663-1696) Osservazioni intorno a' pellicelli del corpo umano. Per Piero Matini 1687 [2] 16 [2] pp., 1 plate. 25.2 cm.

Scabies has been known to humanity for several millennia but was frequently confused with other itching disorders. As a result, authorities have not been able to accurately determine who first discovered and described the causative agent, Sarcoptes scabiei. However, historians generally agree that the present letter from Bonomo to Redi contains the first accurate description and depiction of the itch mite. Born at Leghorn, Bonomo was orphaned early in life and received most of his education from Diacinto Cestoni (1637-1718), a local pharmacist and naturalist. Bonomo's authorship of the letter has been disputed but it is now known that Cestoni shared with him in the work and deserves equal credit for the achievement. Redi (see No. 561 ff.), publisher of the letter, rewrote it so that it would be more readable. Aside from describing the mite, Bonomo and Cestoni were the first to recognize the parasitic nature of the disease and thus discredit the then prevalent humoral theory of skin diseases. They clearly stated that the mite reproduces sexually and not by spontaneous generation. Furthermore, they indicated that internal medication could not cure this disease and that therapy must consist of ointments and baths. The letter initially created much interest and was widely translated. Mead (see No. 766 ff.) first translated it into English for the Philosophical transactions in 1703 and portions of it also appear in his Medical works (see No. 774). Interest quickly waned and it was not until 1834 that Simon François Renucci (fl. 1815) finally rediscovered the parasite.

See Related Record(s): 561 766 774

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4012; Waller 1288; Wellcome II, p. 201

Gift of John Martin, M.D.