Skip to content

An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae

Vaccination

An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae

| 10th March 2019

Title page of Jenner’s groundbreaking ‘Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae’, first published in 1798. In it Jenner included case studies and observation drawings to back up his theory that cowpox could be used as a vaccination against smallpox.

An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae

| 10th March 2019

Drawing of the cowpox infection of milkmaid Sarah Nelmes. Jenner used puss from the coxpox infection and gave it to James Phipps before giving him the deadly smallpox infection. He survived the smallpox infection with only mild irritation, proving through experiment that vaccination worked.

Scroll to top of page