variola vaccina
Học thuậtThân thiện
A doctor examines a patient's healed variola vaccina site on their upper arm.
Definition
Noun: * A local infection induced in humans by inoculation with the virus causing cowpox in order to confer resistance to smallpox; normally lasts three weeks and leaves a pitted scar. This is the medical term for the deliberate, controlled infection resulting from the smallpox vaccination procedure. It describes the body's reaction at the vaccination site.
Usage
- This term is highly specialized and primarily used in historical, medical, or scientific contexts to describe the specific reaction to the traditional smallpox vaccine.
- It is a formal synonym for the more common term "vaccinia."
Examples
- The successful variola vaccina at the inoculation site was a clear sign that the vaccination had taken.
- Before the eradication of smallpox, a doctor would monitor the development of the variola vaccina to confirm immunity.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in historical texts discussing the development and implementation of vaccination programs.
- In virology, it may be used to distinguish the vaccine-induced infection from natural cowpox or smallpox infections.
Variants and Related Words
- Vaccinia (n): The more common modern term for the same condition—the reaction to the smallpox vaccine.
- Cowpox (n): The viral disease in cows that is the source of the vaccine virus.
- Smallpox (n): The serious, often fatal disease that vaccination with variola vaccina protects against.
Synonyms
- Vaccinia
- Vaccine reaction (specific to smallpox vaccine)
- Vaccination lesion (specific to smallpox vaccine)
Notes
- Variola vaccina is a technical, historical term. In contemporary discussion, even in medical circles, "vaccinia" is the preferred term.
- The word "variola" itself is the medical term for smallpox, so "variola vaccina" literally relates to a "vaccine for smallpox."
A doctor examines a patient's healed variola vaccina site on their upper arm.
Noun
- a local infection induced in humans by inoculation with the virus causing cowpox in order to confer resistance to smallpox; normally lasts three weeks and leaves a pitted scar