History of Vitiligo / Vitiligo History
The term "Vitiligo" has been derived instead from the Latin word "vitelius" and was coined by Aulus Cornelius Celsus (ca 25 BC—ca 50 BC) in his work "De Medicina". The term "Vitiligo" has been derived from the Latin word "Vitium" which means "Mark or blemish" and LIGO means "Bind or cause".Vitiligo has long been confused with leprosy but the earliest information regarding this disease has been obtained from "Tarikh-e-tibbe-iran" during the period of Aushooryan (2200 BC). More information has been obtained from Ebers Papyrus (1500 B.C) in which two types of pigmentary loss, Vitiligo and leprosy have been distinguished. In another book "Atharva Veda" dating to 1400 B.C. the condition "shweta kustha" was referred to as Vitiligo.
Vitiligo has also been long introduced with the term leucoderma in ancient Greek writings. Leucoderma is a Greek word in which the prefix "Leuco" means White and the suffix "Derma" means Skin. It is also known as Phulveri or Safed Daag in laymen's language.
Vitiligo was not very commonly discussed before the 1990's when it sprung into the spotlight because of the celebrities like Michael Jackson and Amitabh Bacchan getting affected.
