Plague doctors recognized that buboes tended to form in the groin, armpits and neck, and saw them as evidence of the body expelling humors from the nearest major organs: the liver, heart and brain ...

Most people don’t need to be concerned about the plague based on a recent death in Arizona. But take precautions if you live ...

During the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Italy in the 1650s, it was believed that the doctors taking care of the sick would dawn these masks in addition to long garb and wide-brimmed leather hats.

Despite its fearsome appearance, the plague doctor’s costume — the “personal protective equipment” of the Middle Ages — had a noble purpose. It was intended to enable physicians to ...

Plague doctors filled their masks with theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs and other components like viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey.

Tending to plague patients paid well but was risky business. Of 18 plague doctors who worked in Venice during the Black Death of the 14th century, five died and 12 fled.

While the plague doctors of the 17th century certainly had a scary getup, de Lorme’s miasma-inspired leather overcoat and bird mask didn’t prevent anyone from contracting the plague.