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• Old Medical Terminology
  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 - 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 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
  
  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
  
  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
  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 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.
  
  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.

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This list was provided by: Dan Burrows

Epidemics of the Past

 

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