How did chicken pox get its name?
Quoted from original source: http://www.parentsoup.com/…/…52_417015,00.html When chicken pox was first described, it was noted that the pox lesions looked more like they were placed upon the skin rather than being a part of the skin themselves. In fact, people long ago felt they looked like chick peas placed upon the skin. The Latin word for chick peas is cicer which is the original word that chicken pox got its name. So you see, chicken pox has nothing to do with chickens, but the red bumps you have on your body were once thought to look like the vegetable called chick peas. I hope you feel better soon.
If cows can contract a virus entitled cow pox, why is Chicken Pox Chicken Pox? ———————————————— Hi! The reason is exactly that: because there is a chicken disease called “chicken pox”…even “our ” chicken pox isn’t caused by the same virus… see, pox diseases are a complex of viral diseases in domestic animals and men, marked mainly by eruptions of the skin and mucous membranes. So there is for example: smallpox (men), sheep pox, rabbit pox, horse pox, fowl pox, cow pox, mouse pox, and so on… Pox virus are the group of viruses responsible for small pox in humans and a wide range of pox diseases in animals. Chicken pox in humans is also called varicella and is caused by a herpes virus. Thanks for asking NEWTON! Mabel (Dr. Mabel Rodrigues) ========================================================= What’s in a name? That which the English call Chicken Pox, the Dutch call Water Pox and the Germans call them Wind Pox. The official medical term is ‘varicell
