INTRODUCTION
The term “venereal diseases” was historically used to refer to infections that are sexually transmitted, i.e. syphilis, gonorrhea, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale. These disorders are now referred to as “sexually transmitted diseases” (STDs) or “sexually transmitted infections” (STIs), terms that directly reflect recognition that they are caused predominantly by sexual contact with an infected person. For infections caused by pathogens for which non-sexual routes of transmission predominate, e.g. yeasts or cytomegalovirus, the term “sexually transmissible infections” is used. Table 82.1 lists the names of commonly encountered sexually transmitted or transmissible pathogens.
Table 82.1 Sexually transmitted and transmissible pathogens.