Definition

Noun: * The obsolete process of inoculating a susceptible person with material taken from a vesicle of a person who has smallpox: A historical method of immunization against smallpox, involving the deliberate introduction of infectious material from a smallpox pustule into the skin of a healthy individual to induce a milder, controlled case of the disease and confer future immunity.

Usage

• Variolization was a precursor to modern vaccination. It was practiced for centuries before Edward Jenner's development of the safer cowpox-based vaccine.
• The term is used exclusively in historical and medical contexts to describe this specific, outdated procedure.
• Example: "Before the discovery of the cowpox vaccine, variolization was a common, though risky, practice in some parts of the world to prevent severe smallpox."

Advanced Usage

• The procedure is also known historically as inoculation (in the specific context of smallpox) or engraftment.
• Variolization carried significant risk, as it could sometimes cause a severe or even fatal case of smallpox in the inoculated person and could also spread the disease to others.

Variants and Related Words

• Variolate (verb, obsolete): To inoculate with the smallpox virus.
• Variola (noun): The medical term for the smallpox virus.
• Vaccination (noun): The modern, safer procedure developed by Jenner, using the cowpox virus (Vaccinia) to immunize against smallpox. This term has since broadened to refer to immunization against other diseases.

Synonyms

• Inoculation (in historical smallpox context)
• Engraftment (historical term)

Notes on Meaning

• Variolization refers strictly to the historical practice using smallpox virus material. It is distinct from vaccination, which uses a related but different virus (cowpox) that is much safer. The two terms are not interchangeable in precise historical or medical writing.

Noun

1. the obsolete process of inoculating a susceptible person with material taken from a vesicle of a person who has smallpox