Sexually transmitted diseases

Abstract

In the classification of infectious disease, sexually transmitted disease (STD), often called venereal disease, is exceeded only by the common cold and influenza. Patients who are infected with STDs often are reluctant to discuss the problem openly and to seek treatment. As sexual freedom has become commonplace and homosexual intercourse has increased, the occurrence of STDs has increased correspondingly. Intestinal disease and anorectal disease among homosexuals and bisexuals have emerged as major public health problems, and physicians and surgeons who deal with gastrointestinal diseases must be prepared to diagnose and treat these diseases (1–4). A list of conditions of the anorectum in homosexuals led to the descriptive term “the gay bowel” (5,6).