Allegheny County PA Archives- Vitals: Old Time Medical Conditions Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Dan Burrows and Sally Pavia, 1998 Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/ ________________________________________________ Old Tyme MEDICAL TERMS Thanks to Dan Burrows and Sally Pavia (republished with permission). 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 - 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 S pasms - 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 S udor 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.