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Asaphatum
Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary
At a Glance
The word. A historical skin condition described through itching and thread-like matter.
A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 7; facsimile PDF page 335.
Historical Definition
Asaphatum is an itch arising between skin and flesh, like worms; if the skin is pressed, long threads with black heads come out.
Meaning
The entry gives a reported appearance and an action associated with it. Its “like worms” wording is a comparison and should remain one. The sentence does not identify a particular organism through evidence available to modern diagnosis. Replacing the whole description with a disease name would therefore claim more than the source establishes.
For reading historical medicine, preserve the relation among location, sensation and observed matter. The dictionary’s purpose here is to make a difficult term recognizable within that account. It is not supplying a general test or treatment for a present-day skin condition.
Places to Read
Sirones. Pustules or wheals particularly associated with the hands.
Formicæ. Small bodily swellings described by comparison with warts.
Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 7; facsimile PDF page 335 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Asaphatum ; compare Sirones, Formicæ