where do the large purple swellings that are caused by the plague appear on your body?

Answer 1

I have always been fascinated with the Black Plague. These large, inflamed and painful swellings occured in the lymph glands of the groin, armpits or neck. Which glands were affected first depended on where the flea bite occurred. These swellings were called buboes.

An infected flea bites the person depositing the bacilli into the lymphatic system. The lymph nodes closest to the bite will be the first to become large purple swellings.

Did you know that there were three versions of the plague? The most common was the bubonic which fits what I described above. This is survivable.

The septicemic plague occurred when the bacilli entered the bloodstream instead of the lymphatic system and it was always fatal and death occurs within 24 hours.

The third was the pneumonic plague was a result of the bacilli reaching the lungs causing severe pneumonia. Of course, it was highly contagious due to coughing, sneezing, etc. It was rapidly fatal..taking only 3 or 4 days to die.

All three cause internal bleeding which manifests as large dark bruises all over the body which led to the name "black death".