Archaic Medical Terms Archaic Medical Terms Hysterical inability to walk or stand. A Abdominal Angina Term used to describe recurrent, severe and sudden abdominal pain in the elderly. Probably diverticular disease/diverticulosis. A Tuberculosis of the abdominal lymph nodes. A A Abortion Expulsion of a foetus before it is viable, i.e. miscarriage. When this results from the actions of the doctor, it is termed induced abortion or termination of pregnancy. The word abortion when used by doctors simply means an early end to a pregnancy, whether it is natural or effected by the actions of someone. A A Absinthism Form of delirium tremens. Derives from absinthe, a cheap spirit which was consumed in abundance in France. A A man who acts as a midwife i.e. an obstetrician. A A tendency to sourness; incipient or slight acidity. A A Acute Describes any illness of sudden or recent onset or one that has reached a crisis. It does not indicate severity. A As a cause of death may mean a perforated ulcer or a heart attack. A I suspect that this is malaria but this is based on a single case.

A Aglutition Inability to swallow. N.B. do not confuse this term with agglutination which means glue together or as a medical word would mean clotting of blood. A Literally means the violent struggle with death. A Usually malaria but can be any feverish illness with fits of shivering. A Hardening of the spleen, resulting from malaria. A Ainhum Stricture resulting from minor cuts at the base of a digit eventually resulting in spontaneous amputation. A A less virulent form of smallpox. A Albuminuria Presence of protein in the urine. Found in many kidney diseases e.g. diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephropathy, glomerulonephritis and nephrotic syndrome. A A doctor who practices conventional or mainstream medicine rather than homeopathy. A Latin for a burn or scald. A Congenital absence of a limb. A A Anaxaemia May mean a deficiency of all blood cell types or pancytopaenia. This may imply aplastic anaemia. A An ulcerous swelling or whitlow. A A local ballooning of a blood vessel. Usually an artery. A Literally means choking. Often used for angina pectoris i.e.

pain from the heart. A Of or like an old woman; imbecile. A Lung disease caused by inhalation of coal dust. A form of pneumoconiosis. A A laxative medicine or food. A Loss of voice i.e. laryngitis A Thrush of the mouth. Usually of infants. A A Aplastic Anaemia Total failure of the bone marrow to produce new blood cells. The cause is often unknown. A A Apoplexy ? A sudden loss of sensation and movement due to a disturbance of blood supply to the brain; a stroke. ? With specifying word: a haemorrhage or failure of blood supply in another organ or any other sudden rapidly fatal disease. A Arachnitis or Arachnoiditis This is inflammation of the arachnoid (arachnoid mata) which is in the middle of three membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, the blood supply of which is supposed to resemble a spider's web. A A Ascites Abnormal collection of fluid within the abdomen. Often due to liver disease, especially secondary cancer, but can result from heart or kidney failure. A True cholera. Used to distinguish cholera from cholera nostra or English cholera.

A Suffocation i.e. lack of air or oxygen (literally means pulselessness) A Weakness. May be a euphemism for pulmonary tuberculosis. A Inability to co-ordinate movement i.e. clumsiness. A Atelectasis Condition where lung alveoli do not contain air either because they have never been expanded or they have collapsed. A Atheroma This is the pathological lesion condition that causes atherosclerosis i.e. the furred up patch of the artery. A Atherosclerosis Commonly called hardening of the arteries. Almost everyone gets this condition eventually. The arteries fur up with plaques of cholesterol over which blood clots can develop and eventually fail to adequately supply blood. Leads to angina, heart attacks, strokes and gangrene of the limbs. It is more common in smokers, diabetics and those with high blood pressure. A The upper smaller heart chambers. A Wasting away or emaciation. Usually modified e.g. brain atrophy. A B Barber?s Itch or Barber?s Rash Infection of the hair follicles of the beard area. Transmitted via the shaving brush. May be impetigo. B Chest deformity seen in emphysema.

B Vomiting or illness due to excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks. B Arabic term for endemic syphilis. B B Bilious Fever Loose term for illnesses with vomiting, fever and sometimes jaundice. Could be typhoid, malaria, typhus or hepatitis. B Jaundice or other symptoms associated with liver disease. B Black may be used before another term to indicate that it was very severe. B Asphyxiating gas, largely carbon dioxide, accumulated in a mine, well, etc.. B Depression. This term was used by Sir Winston Churchill to describe his depression. B Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate. B Black Jaundice Wiel?s disease. Disease with fever and jaundice. Caused by a germ found in the urine of rats and hence common in workers who work in dirty water such as miners and sewer workers. Birds can, rarely, be the source of infection. B Disease from breathing coal dust. B Severe form of malaria in which the urine contains so much blood it appears black. B B Blue Baby An infant with a bluish tint.

Usually from a congenital heart defect in which venous blood (looks blue as the oxygen has been extracted) and arterial blood (looks red as it is rich in oxygen) are mingled. B Brain Shrinkage or Brain Wasting Probably dementia B Brassfounder?s Ague Illness due to poisoning by fumes produced during the smelting and working of metals (not only brass which is an alloy of copper and tin). The likeliest metals to cause poisoning are lead, mercury and arsenic which may be present in the ores. B Eczema of the hands with much itching, occurring among bricklayers. Almost certainly caused by cement. B Bright?s Disease Bright's disease is often a catch all for kidney diseases, but strictly speaking is glomerulonephritis, which may be a complication of streptococcal sore throat. B B Bromidism Condition caused by over indulgence of potassium bromide, which was used as a sedative, to prevent fits and to diminish libido. B Dilatation of the airways. Usually results from pneumonia in childhood. B B Brucellosis Disease from drinking contaminated milk. Causes a feverish illness of variable duration and frequently depression.

Goats can be the source in Malta and pigs in the U.S.A. and far east. B Inflamed, enlarged or painful gland in the groin. A symptom of bubonic plague. B Bubonic Plague Plague. An ancient illness referred to in the bible. I think the philistines made offerings of golden mice - whatever they are. Often referred to as the black death. B Remember, certificates often include the words ?certified by?. C Emaciation (wasting) usually due to cancer or malaria. C C Caduceus (1) Symbol of the sword and intertwined snakes (herald's wand), which is the symbol of the medical profession. This symbol appears as this file?s icon on the desktop. C Caduceus (2) Some sources indicate that this means prone to falling or epilepsy. Caducous is a botanical term describing a plant that dies or sheds its leaves prematurely. C Caisson Disease The bends or decompression sickness. Mostly seen in divers but may be seen in workers underground. C A stone, such as a gallstone or kidney stone . C Camp Diarrhoea or Camp Fever Typhus Gangrene of the cheeks and lips seen in debilitated children. Often fatal.

C C Canker (1) Any skin ulcer or sore but as the derivation of the word is the same as that for cancer it may suggest skin cancer. C Skin cancer or other tumour C C Carcinomatosis Means that a cancer that has spread to places in the body distant to the primary tumour. C Cardiac Asthma This is not asthma at all, but is the old term for the sudden attacks of breathlessness at night suffered by people with heart failure. In heart failure, the oedema moves due to gravity to the lowest part. In the daytime, this is the lower leg resulting in swollen ankles. At night, the fluid moves again and will often move to the lungs (pulmonary oedema), so that people can drown in their own fluids. The modern term is paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea. C Enlarged heart, probably heart failure C Heart failure or could be a euphemism for old age. C Means the heart lies lower than usual. Probably not a true cause of illness. C Inflammation of the heart wall. C Destruction of bone. Dental caries is tooth decay. C A medication to relieve flatulence and colic.

C Catalepsy Trance like state coming on suddenly as in a fit. Probably hysterical but some cases are genuine. C The menstrual discharge or menstruation. C C Cholera An acute, often fatal, infectious disease with profuse diarrhoea, vomiting and cramps. Cholera spreads by faeces contaminated water and food, especially in overcrowded conditions. Rice water stools was felt to be a distinguishing feature in the past. C Cholera Infantum Common, non-contagious diarrhoea of young children, occurring in summer or autumn. Symptoms are those of cholera. It was common among the poor and in hand fed i.e. bottle fed babies. Death frequently occurred in three to five days. Probably due to food poisoning from spoiled milk as it was most common in hot weather in the southern USA. C Illness with vomiting, abdominal cramps and elevated temperature. Could be appendicitis. C Cholera Nostras An illness resembling cholera but not cholera itself. Also known as English cholera, true cholera may be called Asiatic cholera. C A wasting away of the body, especially from pulmonary tuberculosis. C Contagious This term can cause confusion. ?

The correct, strict or pedantic definition is, a word used to describe an illness that can be passed from one person to another, but only by direct physical contact (touch). Doctors in the past will probably have used the word according to this strict definition. Most modern doctors will also adhere to this strict definition. Examples of contagious diseases using the strict definition: 1. Head Lice (hair contact) 2. Scabies (skin contact _ often holding hands) 3. Gonorrhoea (sexual contact) ? However, contagious is in established common usage to mean a disease that passes from one person to another by direct or indirect means. Examples of contagious diseases using this loose definition: 1. All the diseases in the strict definition! 2. Influenza (passed through the air by coughing and sneezing) 3. Typhoid (passed through food or water that has been contaminated by the faeces of someone with typhoid). C C Coral In His Hands I have had a lot of correspondence about this term and have learned that rosary beads were often made of coral, especially after 1400. It could be that ?coral in his hands?

refers to someone approaching death, as it was the custom for the dying to hold rosary beads in their hands. I suppose that this could apply to battle wounds as well as disease. I have read a definition that suggests it means to have died in battle, but I am now fairly sure that it means terminally ill. In the past, some believed coral to be a charm that could ward off ill health. There was also a legend amongst sailors that coral was the remnants of the skeleton of people lost at sea. C C Creeping Paralysis Could be Guillain-Barr_ syndrome. This is a paralysis, which begins in the feet and spreads upward to the head. The cause is probably a virus. C Cretinism Mental retardation due to congenital under-activity of the thyroid. The condition is commonest when born far away from the sea, as seawater contains iodine, which is essential for the thyroid gland to work. Therefore, it is commonest in Switzerland in Europe and in the U.K. mainly in the Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire dales.

Indeed, an acquired form of under-active thyroid disease due to dietary deficiency of iodine and causing swelling of the thyroid (or goitre) is often known as Derbyshire neck. C Crop Sickness The old definition is an overextended stomach from over eating. The crop is in fact the gullet, so it could mean reflux oesophagitis or hiatus hernia. C Croup Hoarse croaking cough associated with swelling of the larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe) and bronchi in infants. Occurs in epidemics usually in autumn and is most often caused by a virus (parainfluenza virus). C D Dengue Infectious fever endemic to India and other parts of Asia, but also found in Egypt and the West Indies. Caused by a virus and transmitted by the mosquito. D Cutting (eruption) of the teeth. D Disease or tumour of the eyelids which causes hair loss of the eyebrow or lashes. D Depression Condition where a person?s mood is low or saddened. The severity is variable. It is a genuine psychiatric condition and does not mean simply unhappy.

It may be mild, yet it can be so severe that victims have low self-esteem, hopelessness, marked introversion, reduced awareness of the outside world, sleep disturbance, reduced appetite, marked lethargy and lack of motivation. Sufferers are at risk of suicide, physical ill health from self-neglect or death from accidents as they are less aware of everyday dangers. Classically split into two forms: 1. Reactive (or neurotic) depression i.e. a (generally prolonged) reaction to a life event such as bereavement, marital breakdown, unemployment etc.. This is a genuine illness and not the sadness that everyone will suffer when they experience these life events. 2. Endogenous depression i.e. occurring spontaneously. This is also termed psychotic depression. In the classic nosology of this type of depression, there is no insight or awareness of the problem by the sufferer. Manic-depression or bi-polar affective disorder is a type of endogenous depression. In practice, the distinction between them not easy to apply to patients. It is not helpful either as it does not give a good indication of the outcome of the illness e.g. suicide risk.

Episodes of depression may alternate with episodes of mania (bi-polar affective disorder). D Goitre or swelling of the thyroid gland (in the front of the neck) see cretinism. D Diabetes Although diabetes (sugar diabetes or diabetes mellitus) is common and was documented in the 17th century, I have not encountered any old terms for it. D A fever that lasts one day. D Susceptibility of a person to a type of illness e.g. bleeding diathesis. D Diphtheria ? An acute infectious disease usually confined to the upper respiratory tract (throat and nose) and characterised by the formation of a tough membrane attached firmly to the underlying tissue (usually the tonsils) that bleeds if removed. The organism responsible produces toxins that affect the circulation and may result in death. ? In the nineteenth century the disease was occasionally confused with scarlet fever and croup. D Distemper (1) Disturbed condition of the body or mind; ill health, illness; a mental or physical disorder; disease or ailment. D Disease usually of animals with malaise and discharge from nose and throat. D Medicine used to induce vomiting. E Medicine used to restore menstruation.

E Emphysema (1) A chronic, irreversible disease of the lungs. The lung in emphysema is over-inflated and has larger air spaces than normal (it is like a natural sponge whereas a healthy lung is more like a synthetic sponge) the emphysematous lung has less surface area for oxygen exchange (a natural sponge will hold less water than a synthetic sponge) so the patient is breathless. The expanded air spaces may become so large (when they are called a bulla _ plural bullae) that they burst resulting in a pneumothorax. As the lung is over-inflated, the patient will have a fuller or ?barrel? chest. It usually results from asthma, obstruction of a major airway by inflammation or a tumour (air gets to the lung beyond the obstruction easier than it can get out) or collapse due to disease of another part of the lung (the healthy lung expands to fill the space formerly taken up by the diseased lung. In young people (under 30) emphysema may be inherited (alpha 1 anti-trypsin deficiency).

E Emphysema (2) The finding of air in a tissue, when the occurrence of air is abnormal (or excessive) After surgery, air may get beneath the skin, which is termed surgical emphysema. E A person who practices medicine without formal training; a quack; a charlatan. E Empyema A collection of pus in any body cavity, but without qualification will be the pleural cavity i.e. the space between the lungs and the chest wall. E E Ether Ether was one of the earliest (1842) anaesthetics (after nitrous oxide [laughing gas] and before chloroform). Ether is a liquid that was either soaked into a rag that was held over the mouth and nose or administered using equipment to distance the patient from the ether but expose them to its fumes. Ether is effective (it is still used today) but causes problems if mishandled. It can cause pneumonia either by its direct irritant effect on the lungs or as it tends to induce vomiting by aspiration of vomit. E Inappropriate happiness or laughing. Could be due to mania. E Euphoria (2) Inappropriate happiness or laughing.

In servicemen could be due to shell-shock, battle fatigue, post engagement stress syndrome. E Exacerbation A deterioration in a condition, usually an acute episode of a chronic illness e.g. an acute episode of infection in chronic lung conditions. E Exanthem or Exanthema A rash. Acute exanthem will usually mean one of the children's infectious illnesses which have a rash (measles, rubella etc). Plural is exanthemata. E G Gleet Established gonorrhoea in men. In early gonorrhoea, there is a copious yellow discharge from the urethra. In established gonorrhoea in men, the discharge is intermittent and less copious. Often, it is only observed on waking and this is termed gleet. G Gout Any inflammation due to the formation of crystals of sodium biurate caused by a build up of urate or uric acid (a waste product of protein metabolism) in the blood. It most often occurs in joints where circulation is poor (classically in the big or great toe) but can even cause gallstones or kidney stones and even kidney failure.

G Gout of the Stomach I do not have source, but gout is a very painful form of arthritis and has the reputation of being an illness of people who consume rich food or lots of alcohol. Therefore, gout of the stomach could mean severe stomach pain after a rich meal, which would probably be a stomach ulcer. G Granular Degeneration of the Liver Cirrhosis H Hippocratic Fingers Finger clubbing. Club shaped deformity of the ends of the fingers is seen in long standing lung and heart problems. H Hives (1) Term for croup, laryngitis or other condition where there is breathing difficulty in the 1800s. I have only seen it applied to children. The term derives from heave which means that one?s stomach contracts as if you are going to vomit but you do not actually vomit. Origin is Scots. H Hives (2) In modern times, hives is a skin rash; namely, urticaria, nettle rash, prickly heat or even sweat rash. H An eruptive disease (varicella globularis) allied to chicken pox.

H H Homeopathy A method of treating disease by prescribing very small amounts of a substance which, in maximum doses would produce symptoms of the disease being treated. e.g. to treat vomiting a homeopath would use very weak solutions of a substance that would cause vomiting if taken in large amounts. Homeopathic practitioners claim that the more dilute the solution the more potent it is. This does not make sense from a modern scientific viewpoint, but many people have had benefit from homeopathic remedies and there are many well established practices in mainstream medicine that are not understood or scientifically proven. H H House of Clay Tenement of clay is a euphemism for a corpse (Roget?s thesaurus). House of clay, shroud of clay and simply clay are likely to be similar. H Humour Hippocrates postulated a theory that disease was due to an imbalance of fluids or humours in the body. Hippocrates also believed that humours were responsible for personality traits and this theory is the origin of some descriptions of personality today.

The humours described by Hippocrates were: (1) Phlegm (phlegmatic) (2) Blood (sanguine) (3) Yellow bile (choleric or jaundiced) (4) Black bile (melancholic). NB The eye contains two clear jelly-like structures called the aqueous humour and vitreous humour H Hydatid Disease Disease where cysts result from ingestion of the dog tapeworm. Cysts grow mainly in the liver and lungs, but can occur elsewhere. H Hydronephrosis Distension (by urine) of that part of the kidney (termed the kidney pelvis) that collects the urine. The urine would normally pass down the ureter to the bladder. The distension results from obstruction of the ureter. Obstruction of the ureter causes renal failure, so renal failure was the probable cause of death. There are many causes of obstruction of the ureter. H Excessive fluid in the space around the heart leading to constriction of the heart. H Dropsy. Dropsy is a contraction of hydropsy. H Hydrothorax Fluid within the chest. Usually will mean fluid in the space around the lungs i.e. a pleural effusion.

H Enlargement of any tissue or organ, but not due to its natural growth. H Hypochondria Means an imagined ailment without physical evidence or an unnatural preoccupation with one?s health to such a degree that it dominates the sufferer?s life. It does not have (in a medical context) the every day meaning of a fear of ill health. True hypochondria is a debilitating symptom of severe mental illness like depression, severe anxiety or hysteria. H Hypostatic Pneumonia Pneumonia resulting from a prolonged period in bed. This is not a primary cause of death. The illness causing the confinement to bed is likely to be the fatal illness. H A relapse of an illness H Mental handicap (learning disability) of a severe degree I Means an illness where the cause is not known. I Mental handicap (learning disability) of a mild degree. I Contagious skin disease usually of the face characterised by pustules and yellow crusts. I Exhaustion from lack of nourishment. In the newborn, this could mean prematurity. I A nightmare, especially one where you are so frightened that you cannot react.

I Incubus (2) A distressing illness that comes on at night such as acute heart failure, asthma, gout etc.. I Incubus (3) A demon taking on male form to have sexual intercourse with a woman in her sleep. I A child less than one year old. I As a cause of death means stillborn or sudden infant death syndrome (cot death). I J Jaundice Yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, and mucous membranes due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood, which spill out into the tissues. Bile pigments result from the breakdown of haemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen). Normally they are modified by the liver and secreted into the bile from where they pass (via the gall bladder) into the bowel and are secreted with the faeces (indeed it is the bile pigments that give faeces its colour). There are three types of jaundice: 1. Pre-hepatic Here there is excessive breakdown of blood cells and the liver is unable to cope with the increased amount of bile pigments. Haemolytic jaundice is an alternative term.

Examples: - mismatched transfusion, haemolytic disease of the newborn, sickle cell disease. 2. Hepatic Here the liver is diseased and cannot modify the bile pigments and secrete them into the bile. Examples: - hepatitis, cirrhosis, secondary cancer of the liver. 3. Post-hepatic Here there is a blockage between the liver and the bowel. A cardinal sign is pale faeces accompanied by dark urine. Examples: - gallstones, carcinoma of the head of the pancreas. J Term indicating that the discharge of pus from an infected wound is a good sign. L Lead Poisoning Causes paralysis of muscles in the limbs (often in a patchy pattern). In chronic exposure, there is anaemia and a blue line on the gums. If the amount ingested is great enough there may be colic or headache and acute or chronic encephalopathy, causing mental changes and fits. The picture may resemble porphyria (the portrayal of porphyria in the movie "Madness of King George" is accurate). L Leishmaniasis Infectious illness caused by a parasite transmitted by sandflies.

There are two forms visceral (affecting internal organs) and cutaneous (affecting the skin) the former causes fever and enlargement of the liver, spleen and lymph nodes and the latter skin ulcers. L Time of delivery of infant M Malaria Malaria (literally means bad air) is a widespread disease caused by a parasite in the blood. There are several parasites that cause the illness and hence several forms of malaria. All are Plasmodium species and the usual species are P falciparum, P vivax, P ovale and P malariae but there are others and it is possible to be infected by more than one. The anopheline mosquito transmits malaria. The mosquito lays its eggs in pools of standing water especially in those contaminated by sewage. Malaria used to be widespread and was found even in temperate areas like the UK, but improved sanitation has restricted the areas where the mosquito can breed successfully, so malaria is now only found in less sanitary areas of the world. Malaria causes episodes of fever called paroxysms. Classically the fever has three stages:- 1. Cold Stage or rigor in which the patient shakes, often vomits and has a severe headache 2. Hot Stage 3.

Sweating Stage Following the paroxysm, the patient feels reasonably well for one or more days, but another paroxysm will follow unless the patient dies. Many have tried to classify the various forms of malaria on clinical or bedside methods based on the pattern of the paroxysm, the duration between the fever and associated symptoms. This is far from reliable but has resulted in the terms tertian fever, quotidian fever etc.. M Malignant In a medical context, means severe, dangerous or life-threatening (this will of course encompass the use of malignant when applied to cancers) and as doctors in the past did not fully understand the cause of disease and may have attributed it to witches, the devil etc this could be extended to the everyday meaning of evil. M M Melaena Black or tarry stools. Caused by bleeding into the upper gut e.g. from a stomach ulcer M Melancholia Severe depression. Depression can be a fatal condition. As well as those who commit suicide, people who are severely depressed can neglect themselves to such a degree that they die or die as a result of an accident because they are divorced from the real world. M Will nearly always be diphtheria.

M Meningitis Inflammation of the meninges (a membrane covering the brain) characterised by high fever, severe headache, photophobia (dislike or fear of the light) and stiff neck or back muscles. M Excessive menstrual bleeding. Can be severe enough to cause death from blood loss. M Mesenteric Disease Tuberculosis of lymph glands inside the abdomen. An illness of children caused by drinking milk from TB infected cows. Now uncommon as milk is pasteurised. M Flatulent distension of the abdomen with gas in the gut. M Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge. M Poisonous vapours thought to infect the air and cause disease. M Sweat rash or prickly heat M Short lived fever which sometimes accompanies lactation. M Milk Leg Thrombosis of veins in the thigh usually seen after childbirth (at one time thought to be due to excess milk being directed to the leg). M M Milk Sickness Poisoning resulting from the drinking of milk produced by a cow who had eaten a plant known as white snake root (USA). M Mitral The mitral heart valve is the passage between the left atrium and the left ventricle.

The mitral valve has two leaflets (the other heart valves have three) and resembles a bishop?s mitre (origin of the term mitral). M Mitral Insufficiency Means that the mitral valve of the heart does not close properly and so leaks. This results in the heart working harder and to heart failure. The commonest causes of mitral regurgitation are rheumatic fever and high blood pressure. The leaking valve produces a heart murmur. The murmur is so distinctive, even the most junior or incompetent doctor would make the diagnosis with ease. M Mitral Regurgitation Means that the mitral valve of the heart does not close properly and so leaks. This results in the heart working harder and to heart failure. The commonest causes of mitral regurgitation are rheumatic fever and high blood pressure. The leaking valve produces a heart murmur. The murmur is so distinctive, even the most junior or incompetent doctor would make the diagnosis with ease. M A narrowing of the mitral heart valve (usually due to rheumatic fever). M N Nettle Rash or Nettlerash Urticaria or hives.

Nettle is a plant found in the UK (and elsewhere I suppose) that can sting the skin and causes an allergic rash. The medical term for this is urticaria and the lay term is hives. Allergy can be very debilitating and even life threatening as in anaphylaxis. N Sharp and paroxysmal pain along the course of a sensory nerve. N Neurasthenia Neurasthenia literally means weakness of the nerves. This is not a diagnosis. Often applied to women. The term is used nowadays more as a description of a person's personality than their illness. It can be derogatory. It is a euphemism for stupid, emotional, neurotic or inadequate (women were thought of thus in the past) it can also mean depression or feeble minded or even mental handicap. Probably used in a similar way in the past. It is a way of using a medical sounding word to describe a problem that is not an illness. N Neurosis or Neurotic In a psychiatric context, means a long standing mental health disorder in which the sufferer realises that they are unwell (i.e. they have insight into their condition).

N In a medical sense, means hidden or unknown, so occult malignancy, occult bleeding etc.. O Fluid (water) retention. May be due to heart or kidney failure. O Old Age In this technological age, some feel that people must have an illness to cause their death. Many death certificates show an imprecise diagnosis (myocardial degeneration, morbus cordis, multiple organ failure etc) as the attending doctor feels obliged to conform to this view. Some, however, accept that some elderly people do, in fact, die simply of old age. The registrars in the UK are happy to accept old age as a cause of death. The use of the term old age or any of its euphemisms does not indicate that the attending doctor did not know the cause of death. Rather he (or she) was being honest. O P Peritonitis The peritoneum is a large, convoluted membrane that surrounds the abdominal digestive organs. Peritonitis is inflammation of this membrane and the cavity it contains. This is a life threatening condition even in modern times. Cure will usually require surgery. There are two forms:- 1.

Primary peritonitis which results from spread of bacteria, via the blood, to the peritoneal cavity. This form is uncommon and TB may produce it. 2. Secondary peritonitis: - which results from rupture or perforation of a diseased digestive organ (e.g. peptic ulcers, appendicitis, cancers), which releases food, digestive juices, stomach acid or faeces into the peritoneal cavity. P Cracked sores at the angles of the mouth. P Pernicious Anaemia Anaemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 is also important for the health of the nervous system. Animal products, including fish and eggs are the main source of B12. ? Deficiency from an inadequate diet is unusual except is strict vegans. In the UK it is mainly seen in Asian immigrant women. ? A chemical called intrinsic factor (produced by the stomach) is necessary for B12 to be absorbed. Failure to produce adequate amounts of intrinsic factor (a.k.a. addisonian pernicious anaemia) is a more common cause of pernicious anaemia in Western societies. As intrinsic factor is not available as a drug/supplement, B12 injections are given.

There is an increased incidence of stomach cancer in people with this form of pernicious anaemia. This form of pernicious anaemia is an auto-immune disorder and can be familial. P Abnormal craving to eat unusual things such as chalk, hair or faeces. P Chest deformity usually seen in rickets. P Disease of teething infants due to mercury poisoning from teething powders. P Pinta Disease that resembles endemic syphilis occurring in Central and South America and some West Indian and South Pacific Islands. P Any infectious disease with a high mortality rate, although will often mean bubonic plague. P An old term for blood platelets P Chronic bronchitis or possibly asthma P In a medical context, this means excessive blood. P Having a high colour or a ruddy complexion. P Inflammation of the pleura i.e. the membrane that surrounds the lungs. P Could be a pulmonary embolus or a severe asthma attack. P Purples Purpura. This is a rash due to spontaneous bleeding in to the skin i.e. bruises. There are many causes. The age of the victim would be relevant. Pinhead sized bruises are called petechiae.

In the first month of life, the likeliest cause is haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Caused by deficiency of vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting. Much of our requirement of vitamin K comes from bacteria in the bowel, but babies do not have enough of these bacteria in the first few weeks of life. Human breast milk is a poor source of vitamin K. All babies born in the UK receives an injection of vitamin K shortly after birth. Another rare cause of purpura in a neonate is congenital toxoplasmosis. In older children there are very many causes, so without a lot of info it would be difficult for me to give a precise cause of death (deaths in the family at the same time may be relevant). Haemophilia is an unlikely cause as in this condition bleeding occurs after trauma (albeit minimal) rather than spontaneously. A book of 1564 includes in it's description of purples "butterfly rash" which could mean systemic lupus erythematosis or acne rosacea. P S Scunner This is a Scots slang term. In modern use, it is a term of abuse or derision as in ?ye wee scunner?

I have seen and heard ?ye wee scunner? used and feel it is a mild term that will equate to scamp, imp etc.. However, the definition given in Cassel?s Dictionary of Slang is ?abomination? which could refer to someone who was physically deformed from birth or because of an accident. It could also mean any fatal or serious condition as abomination infers influence of the devil or evil. S Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms are weakness, spongy gums and haemorrhages under skin. S S Syncope Means sudden loss of consciousness, as in a faint. Syncope has been is given as a primary cause of death. Syncope is a description of a mode of death rather than a cause of death or diagnosis. As a cause of death syncope means ?dropped down dead?. On death certificates, it probably just indicates a sudden death. Similarly, exhaustion is a lingering death. The use of both of these terms is now frowned upon as they describe a mode of death whereas the certificate should indicate a cause of death. S Continued fever. Term does not imply cause of the fever. S Syphilis It occurs in two forms namely endemic syphilis and venereal syphilis.

Endemic syphilis is only included for completeness, it is the venereal form that most ancestors suffered from or died of. 1. Syphilis (Endemic): Only occurs in areas where there is lack of hygiene and these days, only occurs in the tropics. In the past it was more widespread. The causative organism is the same as the one that causes venereal syphilis (treponema pallidum) but it is a modified strain. Spreading is usually person-to-person through a graze but transmission can be by flies or by sharing cups. Although it may be transmitted sexually, it is uncommon, as is congenital infection. 2. Syphilis (Venereal): This is the form of syphilis that most ancestors will have suffered from or died of. The organism treponema pallidum is the cause. Transmission is only by sexual activity or from mother to unborn child. Syphilis was not curable until the discovery of penicillin (1928). T Suffix meaning surgical cutting e.g. craniotomy, tracheotomy, cholecystectomy etc .. T Syphilis of the spinal cord T Tabes Mesenterica Tuberculosis of lymph glands inside the abdomen.

An illness of children caused by drinking milk from TB infected cows. Now uncommon as milk is pasteurised. T Red line on the forehead seen in tuberculous meningitis. T T Teething Cutting teeth. Often reported as a cause of death in infants. Cutting teeth is a natural process and not a disease (it does not cause problems in older children and young adults when the second teeth erupt), so teething cannot be a cause of death. In infants in the past, infection was the usual cause of death so ?teething ? could be a missed infection (from contaminated weaning foods?). Weaning usually occurs at teething. Other possibilities are malnutrition (from poverty, ignorance or neglect) dental infection from inappropriate weaning foods or could be cot death (the correct term for this is sudden infant death syndrome). T A euphemism for a corpse. T Painful and unsuccessful desire to defaecate. T Form of malaria with peaks of fever every third day. T Medicinal powders prepared from the shells of animals. T Tetanus An infectious, often-fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium (clostridium tetani) that enters the body through wounds. Causes severe muscle spasms especially of the jaw muscles.

Soil, manure and the mouths of cattle are the usual sources. It would not usually be present in the mouths of cats and dogs although it may be on their claws. T Tetanus Neonatorum Tetanus in the newborn, due to infection of the umbilical cord stump, following birth in unhygienic conditions. T U Unknown (Causes) People die, without having suffered an illness for which they have attended a doctor. In the UK, it is possible to register a death when a doctor has not attended. These days, the coroner would probably order a post mortem (autopsy), but in the past, especially in remote areas, in the absence of any suspicion that the death was due to an unnatural cause it could be registered as unknown causes. Most countries have legislation that allows for, after a certain interval, the registration of death for people who disappear. Unknown or missing presumed dead will be the cause of death in such circumstances. U W Worm Fever I think worm fever is a term that indicates the ignorance (or naivety to be kind) of doctors in the past. Of the three common types of worm, (thread, round and in the past tape) none would cause what anyone today would consider an illness.

It is likely that the cause of death was an unrecognised fever (possibly one where there would be diarrhoea like typhoid and worms would be passed) in someone who just happened to have worms. W Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhoea. Y Yaws This is a venereal disease, endemic to all tropical areas, that produces crops of hard boils. Experts have concluded that yaws was responsible for the biblical plague of boils. Y Yellow Fever An acute, often fatal, infectious disease of warm climates caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Y Glossary of Old Medical Terms GLOSSARY OF MEDICAL TERMS USED IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES The following glossary of medical terms was assembled as part of a project on medicine from 1760-1830 but it includes some terms from a wider period. I have drawn on several sources, including, with the permission of the author, Medical Terms used in the late 18th Century which appeared on a now obsolete web site written my Melanie McClusky. Information from Dr Johnson's Dictionary, first published in 1755, is shown in red.

This gives the meaning of the terms as generally understood in the middle of the 18th century. Robert Hooper's Physician's Vade-Mecum, published in 1812 has been used as a source of terms in the early 19th century; many of the terms mentioned are still in common use. Encyclopaedia Britannica has also been used for some modern descriptions including the names of infectious organisms. Abortus fever: Brucellosis, a disease caught from cattle via milk resulting in a fever. Abscess: a swelling in soft tissue filled with pus caused by an infection, such as a boil. Acute: means a condition of recent origin whereas chronic means of long standing. Addison's disease: anaemic condition caused by kidney disease. A disease characterised by severe weakness, low blood pressure, and a bronzed coloration of the skin, due to decreased secretion of cortisol from the adrenal gland. Thomas Addison (1793-1860) described the disease in 1855. Synonyms: Morbus addisonii, bronzed skin disease.

Ague: malarial infection characterised by paroxysms (stages of chills, fever, and sweating at regularly recurring times) and followed by an interval or intermission of varying duration. Popularly, the disease was known as "fever and ague", "chill fever", "the shakes." An intermittent fever, with cold fits succeeded by hot. Ague fit: the paroxysm of the ague. See also malaria. Ague cake is a hardening of the spleen caused by malaria. Anaemia: lack of sufficient red blood cells, sometimes caused by iron deficiency and worsened by the medical practice of bleeding patients for virtually every condition. Also known as green fever, green sickness. See also chlorosis. Aneurysm: a ballooning of an artery caused by a weakened artery wall. Anascara: generalised dropsy. See dropsy. Angina: means choking, angina pectoris is a pain in the chest caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries. Aphonia: laryngitis Apoplexy: paralysis caused by stroke. Sudden deprivation of all the internal and external sensation and of all motion unless of the heart and thorax.

Aphthae: or Aphthous fever, see thrush. Aphthous stomatitis: mouth ulcer. See also canker. Ascites: a build up of fluid in the abdomen caused by heart failure or kidney disease. See also dropsy. Asthenia: see debility. Bilious fever: intestinal or malarial fevers. See also typhus. Biliousness: nausea, abdominal pains, headache, and constipation. Also jaundice associated with liver disease. Black Death or Black plague: bubonic plague, an infectious fever caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis transmitted by the rat flea. The disease in man has three clinical forms: bubonic, in which there is swelling of the lymph nodes (buboes); pneumonic, in which the lungs are extensively involved; and septicaemia, in which the bloodstream is infected so rapidly that death occurs before the bubonic or pneumonic symptoms have appeared. The Black Death in Europe killed about one quarter of the population between 1347 and 1351. The Great Plague in England was 1664-1665 and is described in the diaries of Samuel Pepys.

It killed 70,000 out of a population of 460,000 in the London area. Synonym: pestis. Black Jaundice: Wiel's disease, a bacterial infection of the liver carried by rats, which can affect farmers and sewage workers. Blood Poisoning: septicaemia, an infection throughout the body. Bloody flux: blood in the stools, see dysentery. Boil: an abscess of skin or painful inflammation of the skin or a hair follicle usually caused by a staphylococcal infection. Synonyms: furuncle, abscess. Brain fever: see meningitis and typhus. Bright's Disease: Glomerulonephritis (kidney inflammation). Richard Bright (1789-1858) was a colleague of Thomas Addison at Guy's hospital in London and described this condition in 1827. Bronchial asthma: a difficulty in breathing, caused by spasm of the bronchi i.e. the tubes of the lungs. Bronchial catarrh: acute bronchitis Cachexy: also cachexia, a wasting syndrome. Camp fever: see typhus.

Cancer: a malignant and invasive growth or tumour. A virulent swelling or sore, not to be cured. Synonyms: malignant growth, carcinoma. Cancrum otis: an erosive ulcer of the cheek and lip resulting from poor hygiene. It was often seen in young children and could be fatal as it led to gangrene of the facial tissues. Synonyms: canker, water canker, noma, gangrenous stomatitis, gangrenous ulceration of the mouth. Canine madness: rabies or hydrophobia Canker: an ulcerous sore of the mouth and lips. Possibly includes herpes simplex infections commonly known as cold sores. Synonym: aphthous stomatitis. See cancrum otis. It seems to have the same meaning and origin as cancer, but denotes bad qualities in a lesser degree. Cardiac insufficiency: where the heart is no longer able to pump efficiently. It may be a consequence of a heart attack or of damage to the valves. Carditis: inflammation of the heart. Catalepsy: seizure or a trance like state. Cataplasm: a poultice.

Catarrh: inflammation of a mucous membranes of the head and throat, with a flow of mucous. Bronchial catarrh was bronchitis; suffocative catarrh was croup; urethral catarrh was gleet; vaginal catarrh was leukorrhea; epidemic catarrh was the same as influenza. Synonyms: cold, coryza. Catarrhal bronchitis is acute bronchitis. Cerebrospinal fever: See meningitis. Child bed fever: also known as puerperal fever is a form of septicaemia caused by lack of hygiene during the delivery of a baby. It was widespread in hospital deliveries in the middle of the 19th century where it was spread by doctors from patient to patient until the importance of good hygiene was finally accepted. Chin cough: whooping cough or tussis convulsiva, mainly a disease of childhood associated with a strange sounding cough which often brings on vomiting. Synonyms: ching cough, pertussis, tussis convulsiva.

(Tussis means cough; a cough medicine is an antitussive.) Chlorosis: anaemia from iron deficiency Cholera: an acute, infectious disease caused by Vibrio comma, characterised by profuse diarrhoea, vomiting, and cramps. Cholera is spread by faeces-contaminated water and food. Cholera was endemic in the east but did not reach England until late 1831 when it caused many deaths in the poorer parts of growing cities such as Manchester. It is commonly called Asiatic cholera as it spread from Asia across Europe in the late 1820s and early 1830s. Cholera infantum: a common, non-contagious diarrhoea of young children, occurring in summer or autumn. It was common among the poor and in hand-fed babies i.e. babies who were fed on mixtures of bread or flour and water, possibly with admixture of cows' milk, which might be infected, or condensed milk, which was vitamin deficient. Such brews of "pap" in addition to being nutritionally inadequate were easily infected with bacteria. Death frequently occurred in three to five days.

The introduction of nutritionally balanced dried milk for babies and proper disinfection of bottles and teats reduced infant mortality very markedly in Britain from about 1910 onwards. Synonyms: summer complaint, weaning brash, water gripes, choleric fever of children, cholera morbus. Chorea: a diseases of the nervous system, characterised by jerky movements chiefly of the face and extremities. Synonym: Saint Vitus' Dance. Chronic: of long standing as opposed to acute which means of recent origin. Colic: abdominal pain and cramp. Renal colic can occur from disease in the kidney and affects the ureter; gallstone colic arises from stones in the bile duct.Strictly a disorder of the colon but loosely any disorder of the stomach or bowels that is attended with pain, also gripes and bellyache. Clyster: an enema Congestion: accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part or blood vessel for example congestion of the lungs in failing heart. In congestive fever the internal organs become gorged with blood.

Congestive Fever: see malaria Consumption: a wasting away of the body; formerly applied especially to pulmonary tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In physick, a waste of muscular flesh. It is frequently attended by a hectick fever and is divided by physicians into several kinds, according to the variety of its causes. Synonyms: marasmus (in the mid-nineteenth century), phthisis. Convulsions: violent, involuntary muscular contractions of the extremities, trunk, and head. An involuntary contraction of the fibres of the muscles, whereby the body and limbs are preternaturally distorted. See also epilepsy. Corruption: infection Coryza: a cold. See also catarrh. Costiveness: constipation Cramp colic: appendicitis Creeping paralysis: a term that encompasses multiple sclerosis Croup: a spasmodic laryngitis seen mainly in children and associated with a cough and difficulties in breathing. In the early 19th century it was called cynanche trachealis. Synonyms: roup, hives, choak, stuffing, rising of the lights. Cynanche: inflammation of the throat. Cynanche maligna: putrid sore throat.

Cynanche parotidaea: mumps. Cynanche pharyngaea: inflammation of the pharynx. Cynanche tonsillaris: inflammatory sore throat, See quinsy. Cynanche trachealis: See croup. Cyanosis: dark skin from lack of oxygenated blood. Cystitis: inflammation of the bladder. Debility: abnormal bodily weakness or feebleness; decay of strength. This was a term descriptive of a patient's condition and of no help in making a diagnosis. Synonym: asthenia. Delirium tremens: a nervous disorder involving muscular twitching and hallucinations caused by alcohol abuse. Also known as DT and the shakes. Dementia praecox: schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterised by disordered thinking and auditory hallucinations. Diaphragmatitis: inflammation of the diaphragm. Diphtheria: an acute and often fatal infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract in which a membrane grows across the throat. The organism responsible is Corynebacterium diphtheriae which does not penetrate into the tissues. However, it produces toxins which are absorbed. Synonym: malignant sore throat, putrid fever, membranous croup.

Dropsy: a swelling caused by accumulation of abnormally large amounts of fluid. Caused by kidney disease or congestive heart failure. William Withering was the first to describe the use of a foxglove (digitalis) in the treatment of dropsy. A collection of water in the body. An anascara, a species of dropsy, is an extravasation of water lodged in the cells of the membrana adiposa. (Dr. Johnson died of dropsy) Dysentery: inflammation of the intestine. There are two varieties: (1) amoebic dysentery (2) bacillary dysentery. Synonyms: flux, bloody flux, contagious pyrexia (fever), frequent griping stools. Dr. Johnson defined it as a disease in which the excrements are mixed with blood. Dyspepsia: acid indigestion or heart burn. Eclampsia: a form of toxaemia accompanying pregnancy. Effluvia: exhalations. In the mid 19th century, they were called "vapours". Among the contagious effluvia were rubeolar (measles).

Endocarditis: disease of the heart valves that can result from rheumatic fever. Enteric fever: see typhoid fever. Enteritis: inflammation of the bowel. Epilepsy: a disorder of the nervous system, with either mild and occasional loss of attention or sleepiness (petit mal) or by severe convulsions with loss of consciousness (grand mal). Commonly caused by oxygen starvation during a difficult birth. Synonyms: falling sickness, fits. Epistaxis: bleeding from the nose Erysipelas: a feverish disease characterised by intense deep red local inflammation of the skin caused by Streptococcus bacterium. Synonyms: Rose, Saint Anthony's Fire. Falling sickness: epilepsy. Fistula: a sinous ulcer within. Johnson also quotes from Sharp's Surgery on fistula lachrymalis - "a disorder of the canals leading from the eye to the nose which disrupts the natural progress of the tears. The last and worst degree of it is when the matter of the eye, by its long continuance, has not only corroded the neighbouring soft parts but also affected the subjacent bone". Furuncle: see boil.

French Pox: venereal disease, former name of syphilis. Johnson gives two meanings: pustules & many eruptive distempers and venereal disease. See also Syphilis. G.P.I: general paralysis of the insane. The third and final stage of syphilis which may not occur until many years after the primary phase. Gangrene: the decay of tissue, commonly the extremities, usually because of the failure of blood supply as in frost bite or as a complication of diabetes. Synonym: mortification. Gastritis: inflammation of the stomach. Gathering: an accumulation of pus. Gleet: see catarrh. Glossitis: inflammation of the tongue. Goitre: swelling of the thyroid caused by shortage of iodine in the diet. Also known as Derbyshire neck. Gout: an arthritic disease marked by recurrent acute attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling around the joints and tendons caused by deposits of monosodium urate crystals. Most gout cases are characterised by hyperuricaemia, i.e. high levels of uric acid in the body, that cause crystals to be deposited in the joint area.

Uric acid is a normal breakdown product of purine metabolism. Abnormally elevated blood levels of uric acid, which are associated with gouty arthritis, arise through either excessive production of uric acid or decreased excretion of uric acid by the kidneys. The condition was not helped by high consumption of meat and port wine! The arthritis, a periodical disease with great pain. Gravel: a disease characterised by small stones which are formed in the kidneys, passed along the ureters to the bladder, and expelled with the urine. See also stranguary. Synonym: kidney stone. Sandy matter concreted in the kidneys. Great pox: see syphilis Grippe: influenza, also La Grippe or grip. Haematemesis: literally vomiting of blood. Haematuria: passing blood in the urine. Haemorrhoids: piles. Haemoptysis: spitting blood. Headmouldshot: this is when the sutures of the skull, generally the coronal, ride: that is, have their edges shot over one another; which is frequent in infants and occasions convulsions and death. Such injury would result from difficulties in childbirth.

Ricketts caused by vitamin D deficiency in addition to causing bow legs also caused deformations of the pelvis. In a woman this could make child birth more difficult than usual. The obstetric forceps were introduced into more general use in the middle of the 18th century. Hectic fever: recurring fever with sweating, chills, and flushing. Hepatitis: inflammation of the liver. Hives: an allergic skin disorder, often attended by severe itching. Also called cynanche trachealis. Hip gout: osteomylitis Hydrocele: dropsy of the testicles Hydrocephalus: enlarged head from accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid, water on the brain. Hydropericardium: collection of fluid around the heart resulting in constriction of the heart itself. Hydrophobia: literally a fear of water which is a symptom of rabies. Hydrothorax: congestion of the lungs, see also dropsy. Hysteritis: inflammation of the womb. Icterus: see jaundice. Imposthume: a collection of purulent matter in a bag or cyst. Inanition: decline from inadequate nourishment; starvation. Infantile paralysis: poliomyelitis.

Infection: long before Pasteur discovered that infections were caused by micro-organisms there was an appreciation that disease could be passed from person to person called the contagion theory. There was a competing theory that held that diseases were spread by bad smells, hence the use of scented posies to guard against plague. Both theories were inadequate but had some elements of truth in that the presence of a bad smell indicates rotting matter from which an infection might be transmitted by contaminated water or by flies to food. Other infections are passed by direct physical contact such as venereal disease and some by droplets in the air from coughs and sneezes such as pulmonary tuberculosis. See also miasma. Inflammation: the classic definition comes from the Roman physician Celsus who described four symptoms - tumor (swelling), calor (heat), rubor (redness), and dolor (pain). Jail fever: see typhus. Jaundice: a yellow pigment deposited in the skin, whites of the eyes, and mucous membranes, caused by an increase of bile pigments in the blood. Synonym: icterus. A distemper from obstruction of the glands of the liver which prevents the gall from being duly separated from the blood.

Kidney stone: see gravel. Kings evil: scrofula, a tubercular infection of the throat lymph glands. The name originated in the time of Edward the Confessor, with the belief that the disease could be cured by the touch of the king of England. A scrofulous distemper, in which the glands are ulcerated, commonly believed to be cured by the touch of a king. Dr. Johnson suffered from it as a boy and was touched for it by Queen Anne. She was the last monarch to touch for the King's evil. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the infected gland was lanced and drained. This often lead to a noticeable scar on the neck as the wound might continue to seep for a time. La Grippe: influenza. Lead poisoning: This was common in the 18th and 19th centuries for two reasons; workers were exposed to lead in pottery glazes and paints or other industries extracting or using the metal. In addition some lead salts were used in medicine before the dangers were appreciated. (Sugar of lead is lead acetate). Lead and its compounds cause nerve and brain damage resulting in paralysis, and mental disorders.

In addition, it causes anaemia and a blue line on the gums. Analysis of a sample of Beethoven's hair in 2000 showed that he had been exposed to lead, probably from medicines. The book Purple Secret, describes the illness of George III, which is now attributed on genetic and medical evidence to porphyria. However the book does not point out the widespread use of lead in medicines of the period or describe the symptoms which ensue, some of which are similar to those seen with lead poisoning. Leprosy: long lasting disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. Dr. Johnson describes it as a loathsome distemper, which covers the body with a kind of white scales. Lethargy: a morbid drowsiness; a sleep from which one cannot be kept awake. The term appears to have had a more precise meaning in Johnson's time and would seem akin to what we would call coma. Livergrown: having a great liver. (Possibly as a result of high alcohol consumption!) Lockjaw: see tetanus. Locomotor ataxia: A movement disorder caused by syphilitic infection of the spinal cord. Synonyms: tabes dorsalis.

Lues: see syphilis. Lues venera: venereal disease Lunatic: mad, having the imagination influenced by the moon. Dr. Johnson gives the original meaning of the term but it probably covered a range of disorders such as schizophrenia and congenital disabilities. Lung Fever: see pneumonia Lung Sickness: tuberculosis, see consumption. Lupus erythematosus a chronic disease causing degeneration of connective tissue. It causes red skin lesions, inflammation of joints and lesions of the internal organs. Female sufferers have difficulty in carrying a child. Queen Anne had lupus erythematosus and although she had 17 pregnancies she had no heirs; one child lived to the age of ten. Lupus vulgaris: A chronic tubercular infection of the skin involving soft yellow swellings, ulcers and abscesses. Synonym: common lupus. Lying In: Refers to the period around childbirth. The process of child birth is commonly called parturition. Malaria: a disease caused by parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted by the bites of insects such as mosquitoes. Synonyms: ague, congestive fever, marsh fever, paroxymal fever, remitting fever.

Malignant sore throat: diphtheria Mania: insanity Marasmus: progressive emaciation caused by malnutrition in young children. Measles: an infectious viral disease marked by rash of red circular spots. A critical eruption in a fever. Melancholia: sadness or depression. Literally it means black bile; the ancient Greeks associated four personality types with body fluids - sanguine (dominant fluid blood) choleretic (bile), phelgmatic (phlegm) and melancholic (black bile). Membranous Croup: hoarse cough, diphtheria. Meningitis: A term in modern usage which is used for inflammation of the membranes on the surface of the brain, involving high fever, severe headache, and stiff muscles in the neck or back. Can be caused by bacterial, viral or fungal infections Synonym: brain fever and cerebrospinal fever. Menorrhagia: flooding, excessive menstrual bleeding. Miasma: "poisonous vapours" (bad smells) that were believed to spread infection. Miliary Fever: small pustules or vesicles on the skin, so called as they resemble millet seed.

Milk fever: from drinking infected milk, such as undulant fever or brucellosis. Milk Leg: thrombosis of veins in the legs caused by lying in bed too long after childbirth. It leads to ulceration of the skin. Synonym: white leg, phlegmasia alba dolens. Mormal: gangrene Mortification: infection, often used for gangrene or necrosis. A state of corruption, or losing the vital qualities; gangrene. Myelitis: literally and inflammation of a nerve. Myocarditis: inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium) Naples disease: another name for syphilis. Natural decay: death through old age is frequently shown on death certificates as natural decay. Synonym: senile decay. Nephritis: inflammation of the kidney. Neuralgia: pain in a sensory nerve. Neurasthenia: neurotic condition. Oedema: swelling caused by retention of fluid such as might occur with a weakened heart. Opthalmitis: inflammation of the eye. Otitis: inflammation of the ear.

Palsy: a privation of motion or feeling or both, proceeding from some cause below the cerebellum, joined with a coldness, flaccidity, and at last wasting of the parts. If affecting all the parts below the head, except the thorax and heart it is called a paraplegia, if in one side only a hemiplegia; if in some parts only on one side, a paralysis. This definition could include conditions arising from spinal injuries and stroke as well as conditions such as Bell's palsy and cerebral palsy. Shaking palsy is Parkinson's disease. Paristhmitis: see quinsy. Pericarditis: inflammation of the pericardium, the membrane around the heart. Peritonitis: inflammation of the peritoneal cavity in which the intestines lie. Petechial fever: see typhus. Phlegmasia: general term for inflammation. Phrenitis: an inflammation of the brain. Phthisis: see consumption. Pink disease: disease in children caused by mercury poisoning from the use of mercury salts in teething powders. Pleurisy or pleuritis: inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the chest cavity.

Symptoms are chills, fever, dry cough, and pain in the affected side. Pneumonia: inflammation of the lungs produced by infections such as Diplococcus pneumoniae or Klebsiella pneumonia. Pneumonitis: inflammation of the lungs. Podagra: gout or pain in the feet. Potters' asthma: Workers in the pottery industry of Staffordshire were exposed to dust from dried clay and in some cases from ground flints and bone used as clay additives. They developed an inflammation of the lung similar to that of miners with silicosis. Potts disease: tuberculosis of the spine leading to degeneration of the vertebrae. Prostitis: inflammation of the prostate gland. Puerperal fever: a fever arising after giving birth, also called child bed fever, caused by bacterial infection and commonly fatal until the introduction of sulphonamides and later antibiotics in the middle of the 20th century. Purples: spots of a livid colour, which break out in malignant fevers. Putrid fever: diphtheria Putrid sore throat: ulceration of an acute form, attacking the tonsils, see also Quinsy. Pyrexia: see dysentery.

Quinsy: an acute inflammation of the soft palate around the tonsils, often leading to an abscess. Synonyms: suppurative tonsillitis, cynanche tonsillaris, paristhmitis, sore throat. A tumid inflammation in the throat, which sometimes produces suffocation. Remitting fever: malaria also called the ague. Rising of the Lights: croup - any obstructive condition of the larynx or trachea (windpipe), characterised by a hoarse, barking cough and difficult breathing, occurring chiefly in infants and children. Rheumatismus: rheumatism. Rubella: German measles. Rubeola: Measles Scarlatina: Scarlet Fever, a contagious disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, which attacks the red blood cells and produces inflammation of the nose, throat and mouth, headache, sickness and red rash. Synonym: scarlet rash. Screws: rheumatism Scrofula: tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands, especially those in the neck. A disease of children and young adults. See also king's evil.

Scurvy: vitamin C deficiency disease, common on long voyages and characterised by softening of the gums, haemorrhages under the skin and general debility. It was found by the British naval surgeon, James Lind, in 1753 that it could be prevented by including citrus fruits in the diet. The practice was finally adopted by the British Navy in the 1790s. The use of limes led to British seaman being referred to as limeys. Synonym: scorbutus. An agent for treating scurvy is sometimes known as an antiscorbutic. Shingles: a painful skin condition, commonly in older people, caused by the virus that produces chicken pox which can remain dormant in the body for many years. Ship fever: see typhus. Small-pox: an eruptive distemper of great malignity. Also known as variola. A viral infection producing fever and a skin rash followed by pustules which leave permanent scars. The disease was often fatal in the 18th and 19th centuries but is now believed to have been eradicated by vaccination programmes.

Edward Jenner pioneered vaccination using material from cow-pox pustules in the late 18th century. Inoculation with live small pox had been used earlier in the 18th century having been introduced as a technique from the Middle East. Queen Anne died of small-pox Softening Of The Brain: senility or general paralysis of the insane (GPI) which is tertiary syphilis. Also used for cerebral haemorrhage/stroke. Splenitits: inflammation of the spleen. Spotted fever: could be typhus or meningitis. St. Anthony's Fire: see erysipelas. St. Vitus Dance: a twitching of the limbs consequent on streptococcal infections also known as chorea Sancti Viti. Stranguary: restricted urine flow. A difficulty of urine attended with pain. This could have included bladder stones and enlargement of the prostate. See also gravel. Strophulus: prickly heat. Summer complaint: see cholera infantum also dysentery or baby diarrhoea caused by spoiled milk. Suppurating: producing pus.

Synochus: fever Syphilis: long lasting contagious venereal disease caused by bacterium Treponema pallidum, characterised by three stages, primary, secondary and tertiary. It is infectious only in the primary phase, lasting 2 to 3 months, when it is characterised by genital sores. Dr Samuel Johnson's biographer, James Boswell, died of syphilis. Kings believed to suffer from it were Henry VIII, Charles II, James II, George II and William IV. Synonyms: French Pox, Lues, Bad Blood, Great Pox, Morbus Gallicus, Naples disease, Spanish disease. See also G.P.I. Tabes dorsalis: tubercular infection of the spine. Tabes mesenterica: tubercular infection of the lymph glands in the abdomen. Teething: Teething infants sometimes suffered infections of the gums as the teeth erupted leading to pain and swelling. If the infection became systemic, it could lead to convulsions, diarrhoea and even death. Another explanation of teething as a cause of death is that infants were often weaned at the time of teething and may have encountered contaminated milk or food.

In older people tooth decay and gum disease leading to abscesses could result in septicaemia. Josiah Wedgwood, the celebrated pottery manufacturer, died from a tooth infection. Tetanus: an infectious, often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which enters the body through wounds. Synonyms: trismus, lockjaw. Thrush: a disease in which there are white spots and ulcers in the mouth, and on the tongue, caused by a parasitic fungus, Candida albicans. There is a similar condition of the vagina. Synonyms: aphthae, sore mouth, aphthous stomatitis. Small round superficial ulcerations, which first appear in the mouth. Trench fever: a louse borne infection characterised by headaches, inflamed eyes, skin rashes and pains in the legs. The infective agent is Rickettsia quintana. Tuberculosis: A chronic infectious disease that can affect a variety of organs. The most common variety is pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption, passed on via droplets in coughs and sneezes. Tuberculosis of the lymph glands in the neck was called scrofula or King's Evil.

The disease could be contracted through infected milk. See consumption and King's Evil. Tympany: A kind of obstructed flatulence that swells the body like a drum. Typhoid fever: an infectious disease producing intestinal inflammation and ulceration. It was usually encountered in the summer months. It is caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhosa. The name came from the disease's similarity to typhus (see below). Synonym: enteric fever. Typhus: An acute, infectious disease caused by the parasite Rickettsia prowazekii, transmitted by lice and fleas. It is marked by high fever, stupor alternating with delirium, intense headache and dark red rash. The epidemic or classic form is louse borne; the endemic or murine is flea borne. Sir William Jenner, (1815-1898) , was the first physician to establish the distinct identities of typhus and typhoid fevers.

Synonyms: typhus fever, malignant fever (in the 1850s), jail fever, hospital fever, ship fever, putrid fever, brain fever, bilious fever, spotted fever, petechial fever, camp fever, camp diarrhoea. The name typhus was not mentioned by Dr. Johnson; in his time it was covered among the fevers. Typhus, because it was flea borne, was often prevalent in the winter months when people were less likely to wash their clothes or indeed themselves. Undulant fever: brucellosis, an infectious fever contracted from contaminated milk. Varicella: Chicken pox Whooping cough: see chin cough. White leg: see milk leg. Winter Fever: see pneumonia. Wool sorters' disease: anthrax, a disease formerly found in farm animals that could be transmitted to man. Now rare in developed countries but common in central Asia. Worm fever: may have been used to indicate a fever or enteritis during which worms were passed in the faeces. It is given as a cause of death of children in the early 19th century.

For modern dictionaries of medicine try the site run by Boots the Chemist which is written for patients, Medline from the US National Library of Medicine, or Stedmans Online Medical Dictionary, which is aimed at Medical Students. History of Medicine

Question: Which infectious disease is characterised by ulceration and inflammation of the bowel with generalised toxaemia and "wasting", usually caused via infection of food contaminated by flies?
Answer: Typhoid fever