Bubonic plague n. (Med.) A severe and often fatal disease caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly Pasteurella pestis), transmitted to man by the bite of fleas, themselves usually infected by biting infected rodents. It is characterized by the formation of buboes, most notably on the groin and armpits, and accompanied by weakness and high fever. The disease was known as the black death, and was responsible for several devastating plagues throughout the middle ages. When lungs became infected, the disease was called the pneumonic plague. It is still found occasionally in poor areas of undeveloped countries but is rare in developed countries.
... Ephesus, a little junior to Dioscorides, has left us the first formal work on human anatomy and is of some importance in the history of comparative anatomy. In medicine he is memorable as the first to have described bubonic plague, and in surgery for his description of the methods of arresting haemorrhage and his knowledge of the anatomy of the eye. A work by him On gout was translated into Latin in the sixth century, but remained unknown till ... — The Legacy of Greece • Various Read full book for free!
... medical inquiry in all countries, it remained for our own time to discover a more scientific explanation than those previously advanced. The malady is now identified by pathologists with the bubonic plague, which at intervals still afflicts India and other oriental lands, and has in recent years been a cause of apprehension at ... — The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 07 • Various Read full book for free!
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