Scrutinium Physico-Medicum Contagiosae Luis quae Pestis Dicitur

Sporadic.
Epidemic.
Endemic.
And what they are.

dance of humors, or can occur in one region or another from other causes. The second is called endemic, or native, when that type of disease is peculiar to one specific region due to the nature of the place; in this manner, Egypt, more than others, produces the disease which they call elephantiasis; certain valleys in the Alpine regions produce foul protrusions of goiters in men due to the harmful quality of the potable water, which you would call inflated leather bottles, common to the homeland. The island of Malta generates dysenteries by a certain innate force of nature. So that there is almost no nation which, as it has been allotted a diverse temperament of location and natural constitution, does not also have diverse and peculiar seeds of diseases inherent to it. The third, which they call epidemic—a popular disease is said to be common to all, in that it is so common that it appears proper to no one region, but by its own nature infests everyone; if it is singularly contagious and pernicious, it is properly called plague; which, with some, we define nearly thus.

Definition of the plague.

The plague is a common disease infesting many at the same time, even of different regions, the cause and origin of dire evils, lethal and most contagious.

It is called a common disease in distinction to sporadic ones; it is said to infest many, even of different regions, so that it may be distinguished from endemic diseases, which (as we said above) are accustomed to vex only one region due to the natural constitution of the place. It is called the cause and origin of dire evils, because, by countless symptoms from the innermost [part] of the mali-