Androgenetic Alopecia: Pathophysiological Aspects in Man and Animals

Abstract

Androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness, also known as “calvities Hippocratis,” who was known to have gone bald, is one of the oldest “disease” phenomenon in human history. The first medical description of androgenetic alopecia is attributed to Aristotle as early as the fourth century B.C. He stated:

“Of all animals human-beings are the ones which go bald most noticeably … and … no one goes bald before the time of sexual intercourse, and … those who are naturally prone to intercourse go bald. Women do not go bald because their nature is similar to that of children; both are incapable of producing seminal secretion. Eunuchs, too, do not go bald, because of their transition to the female state, and the hair that comes at a later stage they fail to grow at all, or if they already have it, they lose it, except for the pubic hair; similarly, women do not have the later hair, though they do grow the pubic hair. This deformity constitutes a change from the male state to the female.” (Citation from Montagna 1963)