variolation
Noun
Meaning
Inoculation with smallpox.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
A very early form of vaccination known as variolation was developed several thousand years ago in China.
At the direction of Caroline, six condemned prisoners were offered the chance to undergo variolation instead of execution: they all survived, as did six orphan children given the same treatment as a further test.
Eventually, vaccination was accepted, and in 1840, the British government banned variolation the use of smallpox to induce immunity and provided vaccination using cowpox free of charge.
He did this by inoculating James Phipps with cowpox, a similar virus of smallpox, to create immunity, unlike variolation, which used smallpox to create an immunity to itself.
In her article, she and Rutherford drew the comparison with “variolation,” which is what a similar process was called when people were deliberately exposed to a bit of smallpox matter from a sick person in order to create immunity.
Inoculation with smallpox ( variolation ) was known to result in far less scarring, and greatly reduced mortality, in comparison with the naturally acquired disease.