Diseases of Yesteryear

Author Unkown

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
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