humanities the plague Flashcards
What is Yersinia pestis?
A type of bacteria carried by small mammals, mainly rats.
How can Yersinia pestis be transferred to humans?
By the bite of an infected flea.
What disease is caused by Yersinia pestis?
The Plague.
What was the Silk Road?
A vast trade network connecting Asia to Europe, consisting of land and sea routes.
What impact did the growth of trade routes have during the Middle Ages?
It caused a boom in export of goods and opened connections between continents.
Describe the living conditions of rich and poor people in towns during the Middle Ages.
Rich people lived in castles or manors, while the poor lived in dirty, multi-storey buildings clustered around a market.
What were the streets like in towns during the Middle Ages?
Smelly, filled with rotting food scraps, and had blocked drains.
Why did improper waste management contribute to the spread of germs?
It became an incubator for germs, including the bacteria Yersinia pestis.
What misconception did some people have about the Plague?
That breathing in bad smells would give you the plague.
Who were the flagellants?
Christian groups who believed Jews were responsible for the Black Death and would whip themselves while praying.
What is the most common type of plague?
Bubonic Plague.
What are buboes?
Large and swollen lumps in lymph nodes caused by the Bubonic Plague.
What does Septicemic Plague result from?
Yersinia pestis spreading through the bloodstream.
What are the first symptoms of Septicemic Plague?
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding problems.
What is the fatality rate of untreated Septicemic Plague?
100%.
What is the most contagious form of plague?
Pneumonic Plague.
How is Pneumonic Plague spread?
Through inhaling Yersinia pestis bacteria from an infected person’s cough or sneeze.
List some unsuccessful cures for the Plague.
- Potions
- Bloodletting
- Fumigations
- Social distancing
- Flight from infected areas
What was the role of plague doctors?
Specialist physicians whose jobs were to fight the Black Death, often poorly trained.
Where did the Plague originate?
Central Asia, specifically China.
What event in 1330 contributed to the spread of the Plague?
A lethal plague outbreak in China.
How did the Plague spread from Kaffa to Europe?
Genoan merchants carried the disease back to Italy through infected rats and their own infection.
What was the estimated death toll from the Plague in Europe during the fourteenth century?
25 million people.
How did the Black Death affect villages in England?
It caused extreme depopulation or even disappearance of thousands of villages.
