An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

HATA, Sahachiro

2 entries
  • 2403

Die experimentelle Chemotherapie der Spirillosen (Syphilis, Rückfallfieber, Hühnerspirillose, Frambösie).

Berlin: Julius Springer, 1910.

After many experiments on the action of synthetic drugs upon spirochetal diseases, Ehrlich and Hata in 1909 discovered Arsphenamine (Salvarsan, "the arsenic that saves", also known as “606”), an effective treatment for syphilis and trypanosomiasis. Arsphenamine was the first modern chemotherapeutic agent.

Manufactured by the German chemical company Hoechst, Salvarsan quickly became the most widely prescribed drug in the world. It was the first blockbuster drug, and remained the most effective drug for syphilis until penicillin became available in the 1940s. Digital facsimile of the German edition from the Internet Archive at this link. English translation, New York, 1912.

Ehrlich's discovery became the subject of the 1940 biographical film entitled Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet. The film was released by Warner Bros., with some controversy over the subject of syphilis in a major studio release. 



Subjects: INFECTIOUS DISEASE › SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES › Syphilis, INFECTIOUS DISEASE › VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES › Triatomine Bug-Borne Diseases › Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis) , PARASITOLOGY › Trypanosoma, PHARMACOLOGY › PHARMACEUTICALS › Chemotherapeutic Agents › Arsphenamine
  • 5324

Salvarsantherapie der Rattenbisskrankheit in Japan.

Münch. med. Wschr., 59, 854-57, 1912.

Salvarsan first used in the treatment of rat-bite fever.



Subjects: COUNTRIES, CONTINENTS AND REGIONS › Japan, INFECTIOUS DISEASE › Animal Bite Wound Infections › Rat-Bite Fever, PHARMACOLOGY › PHARMACEUTICALS › Chemotherapeutic Agents › Arsphenamine