page_title: Timeline of peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori
section_title: Pre-20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori / Pre-20th century
context_page_description: This is a timeline of the events relating to the discovery that peptic ulcer disease and some cancers are caused by H. pylori. In 2005, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery that peptic ulcer disease was primarily caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium with affinity for acidic environments, such as the stomach. As a result, PUD that is associated with H. pylori is currently treated with antibiotics used to eradicate the infection. For decades prior to their discovery, it was widely believed that PUD was caused by excess acid in the stomach. During this time, acid control was the primary method of treatment for PUD, to only partial success. Among other effects, it is now known that acid suppression alters the stomach milieu to make it less amenable to H. pylori infection.
context_section_description: Pre 16th century
  Hippocrates first describes gastric symptoms.
  Avicenna notes the relationship between gastric pain and mealtimes.
  1586
  Marcellus Donatus of Mantua performs autopsies and describes gastric ulcers.
  1688
  Johannes von Murault observes duodenal ulcers.
  1728
  Stahl hypothesizes that some fevers are related to gastric inflammation and ulceration.
  1761
  Pain is associated with stomach ulcers.
  1799
  Matthew Baillie publishes a description of ulcers.
  1812
  Broussais discovers that if acute gastritis is untreated, it can become chronic.
  1821
  Nepveu argues for a relationship between gastritis and gastric cancer.
  1822
  William Beaumont first demonstrates the acidity of the stomach and a relationship between acid levels and mood.
  1868
  Kussmaul suggests using bismuth compounds, an antibacterial agent, to treat peptic ulcers (bismuth subsalicylate has since been used in many commercial drugs, including Pepto Bismol as part of antibacterial H. pylori treatment). The antibacterial properties of bismuth were not known until much later.
  1875
  G. Bottcher and M. Letulle hypothesize that ulcers are caused by bacteria.
  1880
  J. Cohnheim suggests that ulcers may be caused by chemical factors.
  1881
  Klebs notes the presence of bacteria-like organisms in the lumen of the gastric glands.
  1889
  Walery Jaworski describes spiral organisms in sediment washings of humans. He suggests these organisms might be involved with gastric disease.
  1892
  Giulio Bizzozero observes spiral organisms in the stomach of dogs.
  1896
  Saloon finds spirochetes in the stomachs of cats and mice.
caption: Hippocrates
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