How Hemophilia Was Discovered:
Early Historical References:
- 2nd Century AD: The first known description of a bleeding disorder resembling hemophilia appears in Jewish texts, where certain boys from a family were exempt from circumcision due to excessive bleeding in relatives.
- 10th Century: Arabic physician Albucasis (Al-Zahrawi) described a family where males died from bleeding after minor injuries — another early sign of hemophilia.
“Royal Disease”:
- Hemophilia became widely known in the 19th century as the “Royal Disease” because it affected the descendants of Queen Victoria of England.
- She was a carrier of hemophilia B and passed it on to several royal families of Europe, including Spain, Germany, and Russia.
- The most famous case: Tsarevich Alexei Romanov (son of the last Russian Tsar), who suffered from hemophilia.