Fracastoro

Definition

Girolamo Fracastoro was an Italian physician and scholar who proposed that diseases were caused by transferable seed-like entities. His work laid the foundation for the germ theory of disease.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Fracastoro's most famous work is 'De Contagione et Contagiosis Morbis,' published in 1546, where he articulated his ideas about contagion.
2. He suggested that diseases like syphilis were transmitted by direct contact, through the air, or via contaminated objects.
3. Fracastoro's concept of 'seminaria' (seeds of disease) predated the discovery of microorganisms but was a significant step towards understanding infectious diseases.
4. His ideas influenced later scientists, including Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, who provided experimental evidence for germ theory.
5. Fracastoro also described typhus and differentiated it from other febrile illnesses.

Review Questions

• What was Girolamo Fracastoro's contribution to the understanding of infectious diseases?
• How did Fracastoro propose diseases were transmitted?
• Which later scientists built upon Fracastoro's ideas to develop the germ theory of disease?

Related terms

Germ Theory:

The scientific theory that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases.

Louis Pasteur:

A French biologist whose experiments supported the germ theory and led to pasteurization.

Robert Koch:

A German physician who identified specific pathogens responsible for tuberculosis and cholera, solidifying germ theory.