Anthracite Carbuncle Carbon

PART A - An introduction to "anthrax" and links to  anthracite, carbon and "carbuncle".

PART B - Presents ideas and word roots concerned with the disease caused by anthrax.

PART C - Highlights the clinical picture.

PART D - Explores terror and terrorism.

Part A

Anthrax means "boiling boil" under the skin. The people called anthrax, "malignant carbunculosis", to underscore its severity and to stress the fact that the skin "boiling boils" resemble a burning piece of carbon, coal, charcoal or anthracite.

Most often the disease starts as a skin infection but may also start as a pulmonary or digestive disorder. The disease is mostly the result of the action of a toxin whose most dramatic effect is to induce massive edema leading to the death of the affected tissues and often of the victim.

Soon after the September 11th, 2001 terrorists attacks, another attack was unleashed by the release of  "weaponized" or biological warfare grade anthrax spores. Authorities faced a possible pandemic concurrent with public pandemonium.

Continued in parts B C and D.