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Black Death Pathology

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1. Introduction Humanity’s history has been shaped greatly by new inventions, ground-breaking theories and an always evolving and advancing understanding of nature, but even more is our society today influenced by its dark chapters in the past. By natural famines and man-made war and catastrophes leading to the death of many. All of these stand in direct correlation to one of the most devastating threats to humanity, and a force to be reckoned with by itself, pandemic diseases. Pestilence, Famine, War and Death, also known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Christian Belief, have had an impact on humanity and its development through the Ages on such an enormous scale that it can never be truly understood. As such, just the complementation of the margin in which our lives have been affected is infinite and gives great nourishment for …show more content…

Benedictow, 2005), others that it was “due to its physical manifestation and its affect [sic!] on society” (AllAboutHistory, 2016) (see: 2.4 Pathology). Furthermore, the word 'plague' probably descended from the Old French word 'plage' or the Late Latin word 'plaga'. In the end of 14th Century, 'plage' meant “affliction, calamity, evil, scourge”, but just a few decades later “malignant disease” (Douglas Harper, n.d.) This appears to be directly linked to the horrendous grip the plague had on the society of that century. Until this day, 'plague' is synonymous with terms like 'infection', 'epidemic' and 'contagion' (anonymous a, n.d.). Beyond that, 'pest' has its root in either the French 'peste' or the Latin 'pestis' (Oxford University Press, 2011). Which translates to “a deadly, esp. an infectious or contagious disease” (Charlton T. Lewis, Ph. D. and Charles Short,

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Change in European Understanding of Plague in the 1348 versus 1352 Known as the “Black Death,” one of the most devastating plague pandemic wiped out approximately 30 to 60 percent of the European population, peaking in between 1348 and 1350 . It caused massive religious, social, and economic, upheaval in the European society causing great changes in the European culture and lifestyle1. Finally, when after three and a half years the first wave passed in 1351, it spared few regions causing devastation in towns, rural communities, families, and religious institutions . The plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via the ports of Caffa and Sicily in 1347, when several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China .

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The bacillus infects people through the bite of infected fleas and rats (“BLACK DEATH”). This was especially prominent in urban and over populated areas (“Ecology and Transmission“). When Plagues strike people and animals alike die horrifically, in turn fleas need to find other sources of food. The people living in poor conditions often get forayed by flea bites, thus infecting them (“Ecology and Transmission“). It was seldom for the Black Death to be spread from person to person.

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Treatments for the plague varied widely, and were always unsuccessful. Medical knowledge was lacking during this time period and treatment ranged from blood letting to bathing in urine. Blood letting was an extremely risky procedure that involved severing a vein to try and “bleed” the disease out. When you couple this with the lack of sanitation during this time period, you can only imagine the opportunity for infection. Europe also had problems disposing of the overwhelming number of dead.

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The Plague was a seemingly incurable wave of death that masked whole cities in an extremely short time. While the plague was first seen in Italy in the spring of 1348, the plague had already spread to England by the end of that same year, and had reached as far as modern day Russia by 1350 according to the map in Document 1. Bicarrio gave a vivid description of the plague and its quick spread as it entered florence when he wrote “ it destroyed countless lives, scarcely resting in one place before it moved to the next, and turning westward its strength grew monstrously” (Document 2). The spread of the disease was likely accelerated by the Europeans lack of immune strength against the disease and the living conditions in Europe. Another key point to mention about the spread of the plague are the various forms.

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People grew more and more concerned with contracting the disease that they would try to isolate themselves, “… and human aid was as vail as it was destructive to those who approached the infected.” ( Hecker, J. C., & Babington, B. G., pg 6) This quote shows the tremendous devastation that the plague caused since once the person was infected there was very little that could be done to save that person and in turn the risk that people faced when attempting to help someone would only kill them. The concern with contacting the disease was so terrifying since they would die a painful death that even mothers and fathers would abandon their children as soon as they discovered that they were infected. (DeWitte, S., & Slavin,

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The historical pandemic of the Black Death (1347-1352), which killed 25 million people, greatly impacted the European history of the Middle Ages. Originating from China and Inner Asia, the infection of the bacterium Yersinia pestis had widely spread, rapidly infecting those who encounter the infected. The main cause of the spread derived from flea-infected rats on boats or the fleas on the bodies and clothes of the travellers. People at the time had limited understanding of the world, so they believed that the Black Death had an association with supernatural forces such as God’s punishment for sin and demonic acts, along with performing medical procedures that were futile for the disease. The era was highly affected by the plague,

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Often as a result of overpopulation, pandemics—like swine flu and ebola, for instance—have affected life on Earth for centuries; one of the most well-known, and possibly the most unforgiving epidemics was the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death . Although the first symptoms of the Plague trace back to the Mongol Empire in 1331, the disease first struck Europe in Venice and Genoa during the winter of 1348. In the following years, the Bubonic Plague spread rapidly throughout Europe, killing roughly a third of its population. It is suggested that the rapid spread and extreme severity of the Black Death was partially due to the weakened immune system of the Europeans, which had been caused by the Great Famine, a period of food scarcity that affected Europe from 1315 to 1322. Additionally, the lack of knowledge about the spread of

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The plague raged throughout Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century evoking various responses from the people who experienced its terror. It affected all regions of Europe, killing one-third of the population. Various responses to the plague expressed different beliefs and concerns including exploitation, fear, and religious superstition. During the course of the plague these beliefs and concerns underwent change. During the outbreak of the plague fear dominated Europe, and as time passed fear became more irrational and superstitious.

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During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place

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The Bubonic Plague The Bubonic Plague was a disease that was spread through fleas found on rodents. It took place during the late middle ages (1340 - 1400) in mainly Europe and Asia and killed approximately 25 million people. The Bubonic plague was a turning point in history because it caused an advancement in medicine and hygiene, destabilized the Roman Catholic church and caused one of the greatest recessions in history. However, there were a few things that stayed the same, such as the manor system, agriculture, and aspects of medicine.

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Throughout history diseases have been and outbreak everywhere. There are cures, but the ones that are very deadly can kill an ill person within hours. The name of the diseases is the Bird flu, Spanish flu, the Plague, the Cholera, Smallpox, and the Ebola. The disease that is most affecting the nation is the plague.

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Which, was not an uncommon number of deaths for that time period, due to the medical treatment and preventative drugs that where available. What is uncommon is this plague is it affected young men and not just the old or children. There are many different speculations as to what disease the Plague actually was, especially within the last century. Although, none have been proven yet. With the difference of opinion on the

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According to Ole J. Benedictow “Inevitably [the Black Plague] had an enormous impact on European society and greatly affected the dynamics of change and development from the medieval to Early Modern period. A historical turning point, as well as a vast human tragedy, the Black Death of 1346-53 is unparalleled in human history.” It was one of the most devastating diseases in history

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One of the most tragic things that happened in American history is the black plague, we will never know the true death toll, but it's estimated at around 25 million people. In the article “This Is the End of the World”: The Black Death” it states that the plague can present itself in two forms, one infecting your blood stream, and secondly virulent pneumonia. The lethal disease results in a lot of suffering, pain and in almost all cases death within 24 hours. “The swelling oozed blood and pus and were followed by spreading boils and black blotches on the skin within five days of the first symptoms” The plague was horrible dieses to catch that often left you suffering until you died.

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A country that is an exemplification of the diversity of life is Australia. This country has consistently evolved over centuries and its various species is a reflection of this. Within the Australian ecosystem is a population of rare snails. These snails are known scientifically as Thersites mitchellae or commonly referred to as the Mitchell's rainforest snail. These are a species of snails most widely known for their vibrant and colorful shell.

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