Key Object Page

Syphilis

This week we feature a skull with Tertiary Syphilis. The stages of syphilis are characterised as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Primary syphilis is characterised by a painless lesion, called a chancre, at the site of infection. These usually appear about 3-6 weeks after infection. If no treatment takes place, secondary syphilis would occur. Symptoms are flu-like, and can include rashes, aches and pains as well as fatigue. Again if this is left untreated, it can develop into tertiary syphilis. This stage can occur up to thirty years after the initial syphilis infection. At this point, the infection can spread to skin, the heart and bones. This specimen from the museum has a severe case of advanced tertiary syphilis. The skull was also used as part of Lydia Carline’s MSc in Forensic Art at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee. Lydia scanned the skull and took accurate measurements in order to produce the model depicted in this image.