Abstract
The paper refers to Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio's first-hand account of the horrors of the Black Death. The paper discusses how the Black Death completely mystified the medical community and its doctors. The paper also explains how the destruction and chaos created by the Black Death in Europe greatly impacted society and their leaders.

From the Paper
"The Black Death is most commonly referred to as bubonic plague and comes in two forms--pneumonic plague and septicemic plague. The most common form is characterized by painful buboes or inflamed lymph nodes in the groin, under the arms or on the neck. These and other symptoms are caused by an endotoxin which is released by a bacillus or bacteria known as Yersinia pestis, usually introduced into a person's body through the bite of a rat flea that has bitten an infected rat. Environmental conditions which favor plague epidemics, such as that experienced in Medieval Europe in the 14th century A.D., include a large infected rodent population within a non-immune human population in a damp, warm climate, such as found in the Mediterranean basin and Asia."

Tags:bubonic, plague, pandemic, buboes

Abstract
This paper discusses the impact of the Black Death (bubonic plague) in the Middle East and North Africa. It begins by giving a brief overview of the plague, its symptoms and how it spread. In particular, the paper focuses on the social and economic effects of the plague and emphasizes the plague's effects on North Africa and the Middle East in the 13th Century.

From the Paper
"The Black Death, also known as the plague, was, in effect, what we now call an epidemic. The plague was considered a pandemic because it covered such a wide area. The plague is an infectious fever caused by a bacillus with the scientific name Bacillus Pasteurella. High fevers, chills and then dilirium characterize the bubonic plague. The lymph nodes swell and become painful. The swellings are called buboes, hence the name bubonic plague. Death from this form usually came in about a week. Wild rodents carried the disease, the black rat in particular, and later the larger and stronger relative, known as the brown, or Norway rat. A connection is mentioned between the rats and the plague in the Hindu Holy Book, Bhagavata Purana."

Tags:bacillus, pandemic, epidemic, buboes