Font Size
A
A
A

Plague (cont.)

Plague Signs and Symptoms

  • Common general symptoms


  • Bubo: This is an enlarged, tender, swollen lymph gland most commonly found in the groin, under the arms, or on the neck, depending on the locations of the flea bite.
  • Skin: Bleeding into the tissues can turn tissue black. This is why the plague is also referred to as black death. The medieval rhyme "black death" is thought to have originated from the deeply darkened skin, bleeding, and tissue death associated with septicemic and pneumonic plague. The initially rose-colored lesions most likely inspired the child's nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Rosy."
    • "Ring around the rosy" - Rose-colored areas of skin
    • "Pocket full of posies" - Sweet-smelling flowers that those tending the sick would carry to ward off the stench of disease
    • "Ashes, ashes" - Impending death (or "A-choo, a-choo" - The sneezing and coughing of those with pneumonic plague)
    • "All fall down" – Death



Next: Physician Diagnosis »

Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend

Women's Health

Find out what women really need.

Are You Depressed? Take the Quiz


Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Plague »

Plague, first described in the Old Testament, has persisted into the modern era.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary