Sources

During your genealogical research you will run across medical terms used in the nineteen century and before to describe a condition your ancestor had or a condition that was identified as the cause of their death. Your ancestor may have died as a result of an epidemic or they may have suffered and died from an ailment described by a term no longer in use. The following chart briefly defines many of the old medical terms.

Most of the following definitions of diagnoses are from medical dictionaries or medical texts orginally compiled at different times during the nineteenth century.

Ablepsy - Blindness

Accouchment - Childbirth or the period just after childbirth

Addison's disease - A disease with symptoms of severe weakness, low blood pressure, and a bronzing of the skin, due to lower levels of cortisol from the adrenal gland.

Ague - Malarial Fever

Ague-cake - A form of enlargement of the spleen, resulting from malaria

American plague - Yellow fever

Anasarca - Generalized massive edema

Aphonia - Laryngitis

Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"

Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke

Ascites - Dropsy

Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and lack of oxygen

Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing in size

Bad Blood - Syphilis

Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis

Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver disease

Black plague or death - Bubonic plague

Black fever - Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate

Black pox - Black Small pox

Black vomit - Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever

Blackwater fever - Dark urine associated with high temperature

Bladder in throat - Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)

Blood poisoning - Bacterial infection; septicemia

Bloody flux - Bloody stools

Bloody sweat - Sweating sickness

Bone shave - Sciatica

Brain fever - Meningitis

Breakbone - Dengue fever

Bright's disease - Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys

Bronze John - Yellow fever

Bule - Boil, tumor or swelling

Cachexy - Malnutrition

Cacogastric - Upset stomach

Cacospysy - Irregular pulse

Caduceus - Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy

Camp fever - Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea

Cancrum otis - A severe, destructive, eroding ulcer of the cheek and lip, rapidly proceeding to sloughing

Canine madness - Rabies, hydrophobia

Canker - Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex

Catalepsy - Seizures / trances

Catarrhal - Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy

Cerebritis - Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning

Chilblain - Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold

Child bed fever - Infection following birth of a child

Chin cough - Whooping cough

Chlorosis - Iron deficiency anemia

Cholera - Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing

Cholera morbus - Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc. Could also be appendicitis

Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder

Cholelithiasis - Gall stones

Chorea - Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing

Cold plague - Ague which is characterized by chills

Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping

Congestive chills - Malaria

Consumption - Tuberculosis

Congestion - Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs

Congestive chills - Malaria with diarrhea

Congestive fever - Malaria

Corruption - Infection

Coryza - A cold

Costiveness - Constipation

Cramp colic - Appendicitis

Crop sickness - Overextended stomach

Croup - Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat

Cyanosis - Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in blood

Cynanche - Diseases of throat

Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder

Day fever - Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness

Debility - Lack of movement or staying in bed

Decrepitude - Feebleness due to old age

Delirium tremens - Hallucinations due to alcoholism

Dengue - Infectious fever endemic to East Africa

Dentition - Cutting of teeth

Deplumation - Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss

Devil's Grip - Pleurisy / bronchitis

Diary fever - A fever that lasts one day

Diptheria - Contagious disease of the throat

Distemper - Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia

Dock fever - Yellow fever

Dropsy - Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease

Dropsy of the Brain - Encephalitis

Dry Bellyache - Lead poisoning

Dyscrasy - An abnormal body condition

Dysentery - Inflammation of colon with frequent passage of mucous and blood

Dysorexy - Reduced appetite

Dyspepsia - Indigestion and heartburn. Heart attack symptoms

Dysury - Difficulty in urination

Eclampsy - Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor

Ecstasy - A form of catalepsy characterized by loss of reason

Edema - Nephrosis; swelling of tissues

Edema of lungs - Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy

Eel thing - Erysipelas

Elephantiasis - A form of leprosy

Encephalitis - Swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness

Enteric fever - Typhoid fever

Enterocolitis - Inflammation of the intestines

Enteritis - Inflations of the bowels

Epitaxis - Nose bleed

Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions

Extravasted blood - Rupture of a blood vessel

Falling sickness - Epilepsy

Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of liver

Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity

Flux - An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea

Flux of humour - Circulation

French pox - Syphilis

Gangrene - Death and decay of tissue in a part of the body, usually a limb, due to injury, disease or failure of blood supply

Gathering - A collection of pus

Glandular fever - Mononucleosis

Gout - Chronic metabolic disorder affecting the joints, associated with hypertension

Gravel - A disease characterized by multiple small stones or concentrations of mineral salts which are formed in the kidneys, passed along the urethras to the bladder, and expelled with the urine

Great pox - Syphilis

Green fever / sickness - Anemia

Grippe/grip - Influenza like symptoms

Grocer's itch - Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour

Heart sickness - Condition caused by loss of salt from body

Heat stroke - Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not perspire to reduce temperature. Coma and death result if not reversed

Hectical complaint - Recurrent fever

Hematemesis - Vomiting blood

Hematuria - Bloody urine

Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of body

Hip gout - Osteomylitis

Horrors - Delirium tremens

Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head, water on the brain

Hydropericardium - Heart dropsy

Hydrophobia - Rabies

Hydrothroax - Dropsy in chest

Hypertrophic - Enlargement of organ, like the heart

Impetigo - Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules

Inanition - Physical condition resulting from lack of food

Infantile paralysis - Polio

Intestinal colic - Abdominal pain due to improper diet

Intussusception - The slipping of one part within another, as the prolapsed of one part of the intestine into the lumen of an immediately adjoining part.

Jail fever - Typhus

Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of intestines

King's evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands

Kruchhusten - Whooping cough

Lagrippe - Influenza

Lockjaw - Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw. Untreated, it is fatal in 8 days

Long sickness - Tuberculosis

Lues disease - Syphilis

Lues venera - Venereal disease

Lumbago - Back pain

Lung fever - Pneumonia

Lung sickness - Tuberculosis

Lying in - Time of delivery of infant

Malignant sore throat - Diphtheria

Mania - Insanity

Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition

Membranous Croup - Diphtheria

Meningitis - Inflations of brain or spinal cord

Metritis - Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge

Miasma - Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air

Milk fever - Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis

Milk leg - Post partum thrombophlebitis

Milk sickness - Disease from milk of cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds

Mormal - Gangrene

Morphew - Scurvy blisters on the body

Mortification - Gangrene of necrotic tissue

Myelitis - Inflammation of the spine

Myocarditis - Inflammation of heart muscles

Necrosis - Mortification of bones or tissue

Nephrosis - Kidney degeneration

Nepritis - Inflammation of kidneys

Nervous prostration - Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and mental activities

Neuralgia - Described as discomfort, such as "Headache" was neuralgia in head

Nostalgia - Homesickness

Palsy - Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles. It was often listed as "Cause of death"

Paroxysm - Convulsion

Pemphigus - Skin disease of watery blisters

Pericarditis - Inflammation of heart

Peripneumonia - Inflammation of lungs

Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area

Petechial Fever - Fever characterized by skin spotting

Phthiriasis - Lice infestation

Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis

Plague - An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality rate

Pleurisy - Any pain in the chest area with each breath

Podagra - Gout

Poliomyelitis - Polio

Potter's asthma - Fibroid pthisis

Pott's disease - Tuberculosis of spine

Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to childbirth

Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant

Puking fever - Milk sickness

Putrid fever - Diphtheria

Quinsy - Tonsillitis

Remitting fever - Malaria

Rheumatism - Any disorder associated with pain in joints

Rickets - Disease of skeletal system

Rose cold - Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy

Rotanny fever - Child's disease

Rubeola - German measles

Sanguineous crust - Scab

Scarlatina - Scarlet fever

Scarlet fever - A disease characterized by red rash

Scarlet rash - Roseola

Sciatica - Rheumatism in the hips

Scirrhus - Cancerous tumors

Scotomy - Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight

Scrivener's palsy - Writer's cramp

Screws - Rheumatism

Scrofula - Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands. Progresses slowly with abscesses and pistulas develop. Young person's disease

Scrumpox - Skin disease, impetigo

Scurvy - Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin

Septicemia - Blood poisoning

Shakes - Delirium tremens

Shaking - Chills, ague

Shingles - Viral disease with skin blisters

Ship fever - Typhus

Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure

Sloes - Milk sickness

Small pox - Contagious disease with fever and blisters

Softening of brain - Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain, with an end result of the tissue softening in that area

Sore throat distemper - Diphtheria or quinsy

Spanish influenza - Epidemic influenza

Spasms - Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle or group of muscles, like a convulsion

Spina bifida - Deformity of spine

Spotted fever - Either typhus or meningitis

Sprue - Tropical disease characterized by intestinal disorders and sore throat

St. Anthony's fire - Also erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in appearance

St. Vitas dance - Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntary

Stomatitis- Inflammation of the mouth

Stranger's fever - Yellow fever

Strangery - Rupture

Sudor anglicus - Sweating sickness

Summer complaint - Diarrhea, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk

Sunstroke - Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause

Swamp sickness - Could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis

Sweating sickness - Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century

Tetanus - Infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache and dizziness

Thrombosis - Blood clot inside blood vessel

Thrush - Childhood disease characterized by spots on mouth, lips and throat

Tick fever - Rocky mountain spotted fever

Toxemia of pregnancy - Eclampsia

Trench mouth - Painful ulcers found along gum line, Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene

Tussis convulsiva - Whooping cough

Typhus - Infectious fever characterized high fever, headache, and dizziness

Variola - Smallpox

Venesection - Bleeding

Viper's dance - St. Vitus Dance

Water on brain - Enlarged head

White swelling - Tuberculosis of the bone

Winter fever - Pneumonia

Womb fever - Infection of the uterus

Worm fit - Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea

Yellowjacket - Yellow fever