Hansen's disease
Mycobacterial skin condition
Hansen's disease is the clinical name for leprosy, a chronic bacterial infection that primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves.
The term honors Norwegian physician Gerhard Hansen, who identified the causative bacterium in 1873.
Medical professionals often prefer this designation because leprosy carries heavy stigma from centuries of fear and misunderstanding.
The disease is now treatable with antibiotics and far less contagious than historically believed.
Bacterium causing Hansen's disease
- skin lesionsDamaged areas of dermis
- nerve damageInjured neural tissue
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- sensory lossImpaired ability to perceive
deformities · disability · muscle weakness · atrophy · ulcers · claw hand · foot drop · lagophthalmos
Maritime quarantine station
- MolokaiRural Hawaiian island
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- asylumShelter from persecution
- sanatoriumFacility for prolonged recovery
disfigurement · begging · clapper · segregation laws · Hawaii · India · Brazil · Japan
Nucleus-free single-celled organisms
- contagionDisease spread by contact
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
- respiratory dropletsMicroscopic exhaled liquid particles
armadillos · endemic · susceptibility · immunocompromised · exposure · asymptomatic carriers
Bacteria-destroying medicines
- cureTreatment that heals
- steroidsPerformance-enhancing hormones
- rehabilitationRecovery from injury/addiction
- physiotherapyTreatment restoring bodily function
reconstructive surgery · wound care · footwear · splinting · patient monitoring · drug resistance · thalidomide · prednisone
Unjust differential treatment
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
misconception · fear · exclusion · marginalization · rejection · isolation · leper colony · banishment
Mycobacterium leprae
Bacterium causing Hansen's disease
- skin lesionsDamaged areas of dermis
- nerve damageInjured neural tissue
- numbnessLoss of sensation
sensory loss · deformities · disability · muscle weakness · atrophy · ulcers · claw hand · foot drop · lagophthalmos · absorption
lazaretto
Maritime quarantine station
sanatorium · disfigurement · begging · clapper · segregation laws · Hawaii · India · Brazil · Japan · Norway
bacteria
Nucleus-free single-celled organisms
- contagionDisease spread by contact
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
respiratory droplets · armadillos · endemic · susceptibility · immunocompromised · exposure · asymptomatic carriers
antibiotics
Bacteria-destroying medicines
- cureTreatment that heals
- steroidsPerformance-enhancing hormones
- rehabilitationRecovery from injury/addiction
physiotherapy · reconstructive surgery · wound care · footwear · splinting · patient monitoring · drug resistance · thalidomide · prednisone
discrimination
Unjust differential treatment
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- shamePainful awareness of failure
taboo · misconception · fear · exclusion · marginalization · rejection · isolation · leper colony · banishment · segregation
- Medical EponymsAlzheimer's, Parkinson's, Crohn's disease, Down syndrome, Huntington's disease
- Leprosyleprosy, mycobacterium, bacillus, bacilli, skin lesions
- epidemicsepidemic, pandemic, outbreak, disease, Black Death
- Mycobacteriamycobacteria, mycobacterium, Mycobacterium leprae, MAC, TB
Hansen's diseasemeasles
Contagious viral rash illness
influenza · COVID-19 · smallpox · chickenpox · whooping cough
Hansen's diseaseEbola
Fatal hemorrhagic fever virus
cholera · sepsis · meningitis · anaphylaxis · acute infection
Hansen's diseasecancer
Uncontrolled cell proliferation disease
heart disease · diabetes · broken bone · appendicitis · pneumonia