Urethritis historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Seyedmahdi Pahlavani, M.D. [2]

The first known case of urethritis was described by Albert Neisser, a German doctor, in 1879. In 1904, Ludwig Waelsch described mild non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU). In the 1930s and later, Philip Thygeson and others in the United States confirmed the vertical transmission of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU).

• In 1879, Neisser discovered the gonococcus and, for the first time, the term “urethritis non‐gonorrhoica” was coined.
• In 1904, Ludwig Waelsch described mild non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU).
• After that Chlamydozoa, was described as infectious agent, that may cause NGU, which was, at that time, called Waelsch urethritis.
• In the 1930s and later, Philip Thygeson and others in the United States confirmed the vertical transmission of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU).^[1]