Here is a list of sicknesses back years ago and what they were called and short descriptions. You would be surprised of the changes in the medical terms!!
Those who do a lot of ancestry research often find that reading the death certificates, old doctor reports, and old letters a very important part of collecting great information for their family trees. This list will help in your research.
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
Asphyxia
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
Cachexia
Malnutrition
Cacogastric
Upset stomach
Cacospysy
Irregular pulse
Caduceus
Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy
Camp fever aka Camp diarrhea
Typhus
Canine madness
Rabies, hydrophobia
Canker
Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex
Catalepsy
Seizures / trances
Catarrhal
Cattarh is a cold (the al at the end makes it an adjective): Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy
Cerebritis
Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning
Chilblain
Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold
Childbed 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
Cholecystitis
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
Is falling of eyelashes as result of disease (not the disease itself). Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss
Diary fever
A fever that lasts one day
Diphtheria
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
Dyscrasia
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
Dysuria
Difficulty in urination
Eclampsia
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 aka sleeping sickness
Swelling of brain
Enteric fever
Typhoid fever
Enterocolitis
Inflammation of the intestines
Enteritis
Inflammations of the bowels
Epistaxis
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
Gathering
A collection of pus
Glandular fever
Mononucleosis
Great pox
Syphilis
Green fever / Green 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
Hydrothorax
Dropsy in chest
Hypertrophic
Enlargement of any structure, like a scar, muscle, or organ
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
"King's evil" is swelling of joints and lymph glands or scrofula, not necessarily from TB (the touch of a king was supposed to cure it)
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
Lues disease
Syphilis
Lues venera
Venereal disease
Lumbago
Back pain
Lung fever
Pneumonia or tuberculosis
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
Inflammations 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
Peritonitis
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) ???
Roseola
Scarlet colored rash
Rubella
German measles - Rubeola the regular 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
Smallpox
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 involuntarily
Stomatitis
Inflammation of the mouth
Stranger's fever
Yellow fever
Strangury
Painful, interrupted urination caused by spasms of the bladder or urethra
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
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List of Medical Terms=Many people are using Genealogy to help track medical conditions in their families. This list was posted by Daniel H. Burrows to one of the e-mail lists with the notation that it could be freely copied and used for personal use. Thanks to Marilyn Carlson RN for her corrections and help with the correct (and current spelling)
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