VD can refer to any of a number of contagious diseases. The most common are syphilis and gonorrhea. Why are these maladies termed “venereal”?

The Encyclopædia Britannica (1974 edition) answers: “The venereal diseases are linked not because of similarity of causative agents, tissue reactions, and symptoms produced but because the principal means of spread of each disease is by sexual intercourse, as implied by their group name, venereal, derived from the name of the goddess of love, Venus.”

Syphilis results from infection by a microscopic “spirochete,” a spiral or corkscrew-shaped germ called Treponema pallidum. It enters the body through breaks in the skin or mucous membranes. Within hours after entry the spirochete begins multiplying and spreads throughout the body by way of the blood and lymph systems.