Why plague doctors wore beaked masks

翻译人员: Chunheng Luo 校对人员: Grace Man

The year is 1656.

时间是 1656 年。

Your body is wracked by violent chills.

你的身体冷到发抖，痛苦不堪。

Your head pounds, your muscles are too weak to sit up,

你的头变得沉重， 肌肉无力到已经无法坐起来，

and you feel like rancid, hard-boiled eggs

你感觉腐臭、 如煮熟的硬鸡蛋般的包

are squeezing out of your neck and armpits.

正从你的脖子和腋下长出来。

In your feverish state, you see a strange-looking man approach,

你处在发烧的状态， 看到一个穿着奇怪的人在靠近你，

his face obscured by a beak-like mask, his body covered from head to toe.

你看不清楚他的脸， 因为他戴着鸟嘴式样的面罩，

他的身体从头到脚趾都被包裹着。

He examines you and even without seeing his face,

他为你做身体检查， 虽然连他的脸都看不到，

you know the diagnosis:

但是你已经知道了诊断结果：

you have the plague.

你得了大瘟疫。

The plague stands out as one of the most terrifying and destructive diseases

这次大瘟疫是人类历史上最可怕、 最具摧毁性的传染病。

in human history.

It swept across large parts of Afro- Eurasia in three separate pandemics

三次起始于六世纪、十四世纪， 以及十九世纪的不同疫情

starting in the 6th, 14th, and 19th centuries;

横扫了欧亚非大陆的绝大多数土地；

killed tens of millions of people,

导致了数千万人的死亡，

and had— in the best of cases— about a 40% survival rate.

即使是最好的情况下， 存活率也仅有 40% 左右。

The European plague doctor, with his beaked mask and wizard-like robes,

欧洲治疗大瘟疫的医生，穿戴着 鸟嘴式的面罩以及像魔法师的衣袍，

is one of the images most popularly associated with plague today.

这成为了如今的人们想到大瘟疫时， 最受欢迎的联想画面。

He’s often found in books and films about the 14th century pandemic

这样的形象经常可以在关于十四世纪 疫情的书籍和电影当中见到，

known as the Black Death.

这场疫情就是“黑死病”。

The only problem is that’s about as accurate as placing

但唯一的问题是，这就好比

a modern surgeon at the court of Louis the 14th in Versailles.

你把一个现代外科医生扔到了 凡尔赛宫的路易十四宫廷。

The confusion is understandable though—

这种困惑其实也容易理解——

the Black Death had several aftershocks,

黑死病带来数次瘟疫余震，

including a series of devastating outbreaks in Western Europe

包括十七世纪在西欧的 一系列灾难性的爆发。

during the 17th century.

This is when the iconic plague doctor actually emerged on the scene.

这其实才是大瘟疫医生 标志性的着装开始出现的时候。

First described in the early 17th century,

在十七世纪早期的初次描述中，

the outfit consisted of a hood with crystal eyepieces

医生服包括了 带有水晶目镜的面罩，

and a beak filled with a pungent combination of herbs and compounds.

一个装有草药和混合物的 带有刺激性味道的“鸟嘴”。

This could include cinnamon, pepper, turpentine,

它里面可能有肉桂、辣椒、松脂、

roast copper, and powdered viper flesh.

烤过的铜，以及风干的蝰蛇。

This recipe was inspired by the famed 2nd century Greco-Roman physician Galen,

配方的来源受到二世纪著名的 古罗马医学家盖伦（Galen）的启发，

and was thought to ward off poisoned air known as miasma.

并认为抵抗住了瘴气这种有毒气体。

People believed this bad air spread plague after emanating from swamps

人们相信这种“坏空气”传播瘟疫。

它产生于沼泽和腐烂物， 比如死掉的树木和动物遗骸。

and sources of decay,

such as dead plants or animal carcasses.

In earlier centuries, doctors across Europe carried metal pomanders

在之前的几个世纪里， 欧洲的医生都携带着金属香药盒，

filled with similar mixtures,

里面装着相似的混合物，

and it’s possible that the beak evolved as a hands-free alternative.

很有可能“鸟嘴”的出现是 为了解放医生们双手而进化的结果。

The rest of the costume, which included an oiled leather robe, boots and gloves,

鸟嘴服的其他部分，包括了 蜡质皮革长袍、靴子和手套，

acted as kind of an early hazmat suit,

功能类似于早期的防护服，

likely designed to block miasma from entering through the skin’s pores.

设计目的可能是 阻止瘴气通过皮肤毛孔进入身体。

While this shows some basic understanding that plague

这显示当时的医生们 有一些基本的了解，

spread from one place to another,

知道瘟疫从一个地方 传播到另一个地方，

these doctors couldn’t know that, in most cases,

但他们不清楚的是， 大多数情况下，

the true culprit was a tiny flea transmitting the bacteria,

真正的元凶是细小的跳蚤， 它们传播着鼠疫杆菌，

Yersinia pestis, from one person or animal to another.

从一个人或动物身上到另一个。

It’s possible that the plague doctor’s outfit may have provided

大瘟疫医生服有可能 在不经意间提供了一些保护，

some unintentional protection from flea bites.

防止了跳蚤的叮咬。

However, not enough information survives to know whether

然而，没有足够的证据 被保留至今去证明

the costumed doctors fared any better than their ordinarily robed counterparts.

大瘟疫鸟嘴服比平时的医生袍 起到了更好的效果。

It's no surprise that this bizarre getup has captured popular imagination,

这身离奇的行头 激发了大众的想象并不奇怪，

despite the fact that its use was limited to a few places in Italy and France

即使它仅在十七世纪与 十八世纪的早期，

during the 17th and early 18th centuries.

在一些有限地方被使用过， 比如意大利和法国。

Even at the time, it was viewed with macabre fascination

即使在当时，人们对它的看法 也是带有令人毛骨悚然的魅力，

and occasionally used to mock the ineffective and corrupt

有时它还被用来嘲笑一些医生的 医术不精和腐败。

practices of some physicians.

Until the 20th century, there was no effective treatment for the plague,

直到二十世纪，人类还没有 对抗大瘟疫的有效办法，

but that didn’t stop doctors— costumed or not— from trying.

不过这并没有阻止医生们尝试的 脚步，无论他们穿着怎样的衣服。

They consulted the works of earlier physicians for guidance,

他们查询早期医生们的文献记录，

did what they could to fend off miasma,

尽他们所能来击退瘴气，

and prescribed a variety of concoctions and antidotes.

给病人服下不同的 混合饮品和解毒剂。

They also relied on pre-modern medical mainstays.

他们还依靠前现代医疗体系，

These could include bloodletting,

包括放血，

which involved draining (sometimes concerningly large amounts of) blood

有时放出的血量可能特别大，

in an attempt to remove poison or restore the body’s natural balance.

目的是释放有毒物质， 维持身体的自然平衡。

Or cupping, where the rim of a heated glass

或是拔罐，将加热玻璃杯的边缘

was placed over swollen lymph nodes in hopes of making them burst sooner—

置于肿胀的淋巴结之上， 以期这些包可以更快地破开——

a sign, when it occurred naturally, that a plague patient was on the mend.

自然破开被视为大瘟疫患者 正在好转的信号。

Or— perhaps most painfully— cautery,

再或是最痛的——烧灼。

which involved lancing the lymph nodes with a red-hot poker

用烧红的火钳刺破淋巴肿块，

to release the blackened pus within.

释放出里面发黑的脓液。

A lot has changed since their times.

从那时起，已经发生了很多巨变。

Modern medicine has given us the means to quickly identify

现代医学使我们掌握了 迅速识别

bacterial as well as viral threats

细菌和病毒威胁的能力，

and to effectively mobilize against them.

以及有效对抗它们的方法。

We also have access to technologies like test kits,

我们也有了检测试剂盒、

masks to deter the spread of respiratory viruses, and vaccines;

阻止呼吸道病毒 传播的面罩，以及疫苗；

and we conduct robust trials to make sure they’re safe and effective.

我们可以进行可靠的临床试验 确保疫苗安全有效。

But some things don’t change:

但有些事情没有改变：

we still depend on the courage and compassion of medical professionals

我们依旧依靠着 医疗工作者的勇气与仁爱，

who voluntarily risk their lives

他们自愿冒着生命危险，

against an invisible attacker to help and comfort those who need it most.

对抗着看不见的入侵者， 给最需要的人们提供帮助与抚慰。