The Black Death
Bubonic plague is the medical term. It is a bacillus, an organism, most usually carried by rodents. Fleas infest the animal, mostly rats, and these fleas move freely over to human hosts.
The flea then regurgitates the blood from the rat into the human, infecting the human. The flea's stomach gets blocked and it eventually dies of starvation.
The most characteristic symptom is swelling lymph nodes. Lymph nodes can be found in the neck, armpits and groin. They begin to swell starting off red and finishing a blackish colouring gives the disease its name: the Black Death.
The swellings continue to expand until they eventually burst, with death following soon after. The whole process, from first symptoms of fever and aches, to final expiration, lasts only three or four days. The swiftness of the disease, the terrible pain, the grotesque appearance of the victims, all served to make the plague especially terrifying.
The flea then regurgitates the blood from the rat into the human, infecting the human. The flea's stomach gets blocked and it eventually dies of starvation.
The most characteristic symptom is swelling lymph nodes. Lymph nodes can be found in the neck, armpits and groin. They begin to swell starting off red and finishing a blackish colouring gives the disease its name: the Black Death.
The swellings continue to expand until they eventually burst, with death following soon after. The whole process, from first symptoms of fever and aches, to final expiration, lasts only three or four days. The swiftness of the disease, the terrible pain, the grotesque appearance of the victims, all served to make the plague especially terrifying.