1800's Disease Terminology A-E

[Ang]

********Alphabetized List Of Common 1800's Disease Terminology********


Have you ever been researching obituaries, or death notices from the 1800's
and ran across a cause of death you couldn't even find in a medical
dictionary? That's because medical terminology has came a LONG way in the
past century! This list might help you understand some of the most common
1800's ailments.


Ablepsy - Blindness
Ague - Malarial Fever
American plague - Yellow fever
Anasarca - Generalized massive edema
Aphonia - Laryngitis
Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"
Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
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
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 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 2 - 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
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 Belly Ache - 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

[Ang]

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
Gathering - A collection of pus
Glandular Fever - Mononucleosis
Great Pox - Syphilis
Green Fever - 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
Jail Fever - Typhus
Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of intestines
King's Evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
Kruchhusten - Whooping cough
Lagrippe - Influenza
Lock Jaw - 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
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
Puerperal Exhaustion - Death due to child birth
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 - PolioPotter'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.

[Ang]

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.

If you know of others, PLEASE add them to the list!! ;D
~Ang