The history and value of face masks

Christiane Matuschek; Friedrich Moll; Heiner Fangerau; Johannes C Fischer; Kurt Zänker; Martijn van Griensven; Marion Schneider; Detlef Kindgen-Milles; Wolfram Trudo Knoefel; Artur Lichtenberg; Bálint Tamaskovics; Freddy Joel Djiepmo-Njanang; Wilfried Budach; Stefanie Corradini; Dieter Häussinger; Torsten Feldt; Björn Jensen; Rainer Pelka; Klaus Orth; Matthias Peiper; Olaf Grebe; Kitti Maas; Edwin Bölke; Jan Haussmann

doi:10.1186/s40001-020-00423-4

The history and value of face masks

Eur J Med Res. 2020 Jun 23;25(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s40001-020-00423-4.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
² Department of the History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
³ Institute for Transplant Diagnostics and Cell Therapeutics, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
⁴ University Witten/Herdecke, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Witten, Germany.
⁵ Department cBITE, Maastricht University, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
⁶ Department of Experimental Anesthesiology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
⁷ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
⁸ Department for General Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
⁹ Department for Cardiac Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectiology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
¹² Institute for Applied Statistics, Munich, Germany.
¹³ University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
¹⁴ Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Cardiology, Rhythmology and Intensive Care Medicine, Evangelical Hospital, Duesseldorf, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Radiation Oncology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany. boelke@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.

Abstract

In the human population, social contacts are a key for transmission of bacteria and viruses. The use of face masks seems to be critical to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for the period, in which therapeutic interventions are lacking. In this review, we describe the history of masks from the middle age to modern times.

Keywords: Bacterial transmission; Behavior; History of medicine; Pandemic crisis; Surgical mask; Viral transmission; Wound infection.

Publication types

Historical Article
Review

MeSH terms

Communicable Disease Control / instrumentation
Communicable Disease Control / methods*
History of Medicine*
History, 17th Century
History, 18th Century
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Masks / history*
Masks / standards
Respiratory Protective Devices / history
Respiratory Protective Devices / standards