Bubonic Plague

Plague, was a term that was applied in the Middle Ages to all fatal epidemic diseases, but now it is only applied to an acute, infectious, contagious disease of rodents and humans, caused by a short, thin, gram-negative bacillus. In humans, plague occurs in three forms: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. The best known form is the bubonic plague and it is named after buboes, or enlarged, inflamed lymph nodes, which are characteristics …

…while others were accused of killing their patients for money, or charging outrageous fees. The doctors believed that these accusations were based on resentment. The doctors also thought it was the rats tail which were the cause of the plague but they still did not have solid preventive measures. The doctors even suggested that standing over the latrine with an empty stomach and smelling it for hours was a good remedy to cure the plague.