Last revised: 04/05/01 08:51 PM
A B C D
E F G H I
J K L M N
O P Q R S
T U V W X Y
Z
A
- 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.
B
- 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
C
- 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:—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
D
- 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
E
- 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:—Inflation's 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
F
- 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
G
- Gathering:—A collection of pus
- Glandular fever:—Mononucleosis
- Great pox:—Syphilis
- Green fever / sickness:—Anemia
- Grippe/grip:—Influenza like symptoms
- Grocer's itch:—Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour
H
- 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
I
- 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
J
- Jail fever:—Typhus
- Jaundice:—Condition caused by blockage of intestines
K
- King's evil:—Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
- Kruchhusten:—Whooping cough
L
- 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
M
- Malignant sore throat:—Diphtheria
- Mania:—Insanity
- Marasmus:—Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition
- Membranous Croup:—Diphtheria
- Meningitis:—Inflation's 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
N
- 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
P
- Palsys:—Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles
- 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.
Q
R
- 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
S
- 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
T
- 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
V
- Variola:—Smallpox
- Venesection:—Bleeding
- Viper's dance:—St. Vitus Dance
W
- 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
Y
- Yellowjacket:—Yellow fever.