Historical medical term for inoculation against smallpox using material from human smallpox lesions, practiced before modern vaccination.
During the Edo period, variolation was used to prevent smallpox.
種痘 is a broader term for smallpox inoculation, including both variolation (using human smallpox) and later vaccination (using cowpox). 人痘種痘法 specifically refers to the older method using human smallpox material.
牛痘種痘法 is vaccination using cowpox material, the safer method that replaced variolation. 人痘種痘法 is the earlier, riskier human smallpox inoculation.
Compound of 人痘 (じんとう, 'human smallpox') + 種痘 (しゅとう, 'smallpox inoculation') + 法 (ほう, 'method'). The term describes the historical practice of inoculating with material from human smallpox lesions.