This study on the genesis and evolution of a cluster of disorders (called sitapitta, i.e, urticaria and syndromes resembling it) and their treatment in Indian medical literature from early times to the present day is the first of its kind.It deals with antecedent concepts in the classical samhitas and the sudden appearance of a well-defined nosological entity in a later period, together with the therapeutic measures developed.The fate of this entity in a large number of medical treatises is systematically explored. Continuity and change in both theory and therapy are thus seen to be present until our own times.