Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
polio
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Polio vaccine
How did the polio vaccine change the world?
polio testing Jonas Salk; polio vaccine
Children with polio and the administration of polio vaccine
A child wearing a brace on a leg that has been affected by polio. Historical mass vaccination programs in the United States
For Students
poliomyelitis summary
Quizzes
full human skeleton
Diseases, Disorders, and More: A Medical Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes
Discover
Aspirin pills.
7 Drugs that Changed the World
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?
Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.
9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States
Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"
How Deadly Is Quicksand?
Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding
7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers
Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

polio: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/polio
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As acute anterior poliomyelitis • poliomyelitis • infantile paralysis • Heine-Medin disease

Photos and Videos

Polio vaccine
polio testing
Jonas Salk; polio vaccine
A child wearing a brace on a leg that has been affected by polio.
Historical mass vaccination programs in the United States
How did the polio vaccine change the world?
Children with polio and the administration of polio vaccine
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Kenny, Elizabeth; Sister Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny
Australian nurse
Albert Bruce Sabin
American physician and microbiologist
Jonas Salk; polio vaccine
Jonas Salk
American physician and medical researcher

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes
full human skeleton
Diseases, Disorders, and More: A Medical Quiz