title: Leprosy: Social implications from antiquity to the present.
abstract: One of the most important dermatologic diseases from the sociologic viewpoint has been leprosy. Those with leprosy were isolated, excluded from society, and stigmatized. Such a stigma indicates the strong feeling that a leprosy patient is shameful and should not be accepted by society. During the first millennium, leprosy was rapidly inscribed in the system of religious prohibitions-the disease was a punishment by God for wrongdoing, and the disease was associated with the lower spheres of the society. Social perception of leprosy gradually changed during the time of Crusades. The care for lepers became a Christian obligation, and celebrating Holy Masses as for the dead was forsaken. The sick were forced to stay at leprosaria, particularly from the 14th through the 19th centuries when fear of leprosy was at a high point. Admission to a leprosarium was mandatory not only for patients with leprosy but also even those suspected of having the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Poznań City Hospital, ul. Szwajcarska 3, 61-285 Poznań, Poland; Medical Faculty, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland. Electronic address: ae.grzybowski@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grzybowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethics and Human Philosophy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-124 Lublin, Szkolna 18, Poland.
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sak
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethics and Human Philosophy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-124 Lublin, Szkolna 18, Poland; Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pawlikowski
authors.affiliation: Domestic and Specialized Medicine Centre "Dilmed" Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nita
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping