Do you think this is for real? I wasn't there in 1347-51, but I never thought plague looked like

[raccoon]

this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10012998.html?tag=mGalleryBottom;mGalleryUL

[librechik]

1. yes--it's for real n/t

[sharp_stick]

2. Yes it is

it's called Acral Necrosis,it's a fairly common symptom of Bubonic plague and is probably the reason they called it the Black Death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acral_necrosis

[pinto]

3. Yes. Still occurs occasionally, especially in the US West. CDC photos here (some graphic)

http://hardinmd.lib.uiowa.edu/cdc/plague5.html

[PADemD]

4. Link didn't show a picture

[mrs_p]

5. yes - especially if it is septicemic

http://www.logicalimages.com/publicHealthResources/septicemicPlague.htm

[RKP5637]

6. I think it might be looking/reading the link below from abcnews ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/oregon-man-survives-black-plague-lose-fingers-toes/story?id=16806758

The Black Death that killed 50 million Europeans six centuries ago is the ancestor of "all the modern plagues we have today worldwide," said the scientists who decoded its entire genetic structure from the teeth of long-dead Londoners.

Sometimes I think we all forget how horrific some of these events were. Sometimes I do wonder if there will be a repeat with yet something new.

[DreamGypsy]

7. Evidently plague can cause gangrene ...

in the fingers (and probably the toes):

http://rarediseases.about.com/od/infectiousdiseases/ig/Pictures-of-Bubonic-Plague/hand-gangrene.htm

Bubonic plague infection causes tiny blood vessels in the hands and fingers to clog up and cut off circulation. Without blood, the flesh dies and turns black (called "gangrene&quot . This is why in the Middle Ages bubonic plague was called "the Black Death."

A new fact for the epidemiological part of my brain.

[GCP]

10. Yes, it looked like gangrene to me

I had a patient with it once.

[bemildred]

8. There are many forms of plague. nt

[Poll_Blind]

9. Would be nice if you could indicate the image is graphic above the link. And, yes, from...

...what I've seen, it could look that bad. On the Wiki page for [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague]Bubonic plague[/url] you can see an image of a victim similarly afflicted.

PB

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Why do you think it was called the 'black death' or 'black plague'? It's for real.

[hlthe2b]

12. Yes.. this is the bubonic form of plague. There is also a more rare pneumonic form that is

even more rapidly fatal and CAN (unlike bubonic form) be spread person-to-person. The latter is why the potential of aerosolized plague as a WMD is so devastating to contemplate.

Bubonic can be highly treatable if caught early and the CORRECT antibiotic is used. The problem is that it is rare enough that it is often not diagnosed and treated correctly the first time around.

[kestrel91316]

13. Yes, it's for real. He contracted septicemic plague - the bacteria got into his bloodstream.

He should be dead - he's a very lucky man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septicemic_plague

Bacterial endotoxins lead to disseminated intravascular coagulation, and tiny blood clots block blood flow to extremities.

[Care Acutely]

14. Very real. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. ugh. that pic needed a warning