My project is about how the lymphatic system was affected during the Bubonic Plague. Although only medieval paintings were available during the time period of the Bubonic Plague, some art pieces do not accurately depict how our lymphatic systems would respond to the disease. The top photo is an original I found on the internet, the bottom photo is my drawing of a more accurate depiction of the disease shown in the original photo based on what I know about the lymphatic system.

One Comment

  1. Rebecca Dowler’s STEAM project is about the impact the Bubonic Plague had on artwork that was depicted during the time of the plague itself. During the Bubonic Plague, artists attempted to depict what was happening around them, whether or not the artists were incorrect or historians assumptions on the actual artwork was incorrect, there is inaccurate information presented within/about some paintings of that time. There were other diseases that were happening at the same time/during the same time period as the bubonic plague that were also painted, and these paintings are actually of leprosy or smallpox.
    Rebecca Dowler chose a painting from that time period of the Bubonic Plague, and drew a more accurate depiction of the disease on the same photo based on what she knows about the lymphatic system. The drawing is really well done, I can clearly see the changes that were made and improved upon. The original artwork seems to be depicting Leprosy, which is an infectious disease that causes skin sores all over the body on the skin. The bubonic plague presents itself on the body as swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin area. So the bubonic plague does not present itself all over the body as it is a lymph disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis that travels through the lymph system. The corrections that are made in the hand drawn version are that the cervical nodes, axillary, and inguinal (not present), are labeled, and the only visual illness is now located in the correct locations for the bubonic plague. The original artwork shows bumps/sores all over the body, while the newly done piece shows where the swollen lymph nodes are which is where the bubonic plague would present itself.
    It is a really nice STEAM project art piece and it is really easy to tell what the project is and what corrections were made.

    Iliamna O'Malley

Comments are closed.