Until the 1990s, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were commonly known as venereal diseases. Veneris is the Latin form of the name Venus, the Roman goddess of love. STDs are illnesses that have a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex.

Anogenital warts, the most common STD in the United States, is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). It is estimated that 1% of the population of the United States has clinically evident lesions of anogenital warts with possibly 15% having subclinical infection by HPV. Certain subtypes of HPV are thought to be one of the main underlying causes of cervical cancer as well as other types of cancers of the female and male reproductive systems.

Syphilis is common worldwide, and since the late 1990s, infectious early syphilis has reemerged as an important disease in Western Europe and the United States and is an important facilitator of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission.

Sexually transmitted herpes simplex virus (HSV) is an STD that presently has no cure. The incidence of HSV-2 infection is also one of the most rapidly increasing among STDs in the United States.

Chancroid is rare in the United States and Western Europe. In the United States, it is associated with the use of crack cocaine.

Lymphogranuloma venereum and granuloma inguinale are also reported rarely in the United States and Western Europe and are more frequently seen in tropical and subtropical regions.