Archaic Medical Terms

Abdominal Typhus

A type of typhus fever characterized by bluish spots appearing on the abdomen a few days after the disease is contracted.

Ablepsia / Ablepsy

Blindness.

Abluent

A substance which thins, purifies, or sweetens the blood.

Ablution

Washing the body externally or internally with diluting fluids.

Abortus Fever

See Brucellosis.

Abracadabra

A cabalistic word, used as a charm, and believed to have the power to cure illness and disease when written in a triangular arrangement and worn around the neck.

Abscess

A collection of purulent matter or pockets of pus, usually fatal, sometimes caused by amebic dysentery.

Abstracted Medical Record

A record prepared for soldiers treated at medical facilities in posts, camps, and in the field, containing name, rank, unit, reason for treatment, and treatment time period.

Aches

Convulsions.

Achor

The scald head, a disease forming scaly eruptions, supposed to be critical evacuation of acrimonious humors; a species of herpes.

Acme

The period of full growth or mature age, often used in medical records to describe the maturity of a person.

Aconite

A medicine made from the dried root of the monkshood used to reduce fever, as a sedative, and as a painkiller.

Acute

Means a condition of recent origin whereas chronic means of long standing.

Addison's Disease

Anaemic condition caused by kidney disease.

African Consumption

Consumption (tuberculosis) suffered by a Negro, usually a slave.

Aglutition

Inability to swallow, frequently found on death certificates.

Ague

Originally the feverish stage, but afterwards more usually the cold or shivering stage of an acute or violent fever; a malarial fever.

Ague-Cake

A hard tumor or swelling on the left side of the abdomen, lower than the false rib, resulting from enlargement of the spleen or liver, and supposed to be the effect of intermitting fevers.

Ague Tree

Sassafras, a tree effective in reducing fevers.

Aksis

Access, an intense feeling of fever or ague.

Aleberry

A beverage used in England in the 1800's of ale boiled with spice and sugar and bits of bread, sometimes used for invalids.

Althea, Syrup of

Althaea officinalis is Marsh Mallow, used as an anti-inflammatory.

Amentia

Feeble mindedness; a temporary, confused state of insanity.

American Plague

See Yellow Fever.

Anaemia / Anemia

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.

Anaplerotic

A medicine which promotes the healing process, and helps renew flesh or wasted parts – often found in medical records.

Anascara

A form of dropsy where there is swelling just beneath the skin which produces a very puffed appearance of the flesh over a large surface of the body.

Ancome

An ulcerous swelling, a boil.

Aneurism / Aneurysm

A ballooning of an artery caused by a weakened artery wall.

Angina Pectoris

A dangerous disease, with paroxysms characterized by sudden and severe pain in the lower chest, with a feeling of suffocation.

Angina

The general name of the diseases called sore throat, as quinsy, scarlet fever, croup, mumps, etc.

Anodyne

A drug which will dull pain; analgesic.

Anthelmintic

Something used to expel or destroy intestinal worms.

Antifebrile

A medicine able to abate or cure fever.

Antiparalytic

A medicine used to help palsy victims.

Antiperiodic

A medicine which prevented the periodic return of certain diseases, such as malaria.

Antipestilential

A substance that will counteract or stop contagion or infection.

Antiphlogistic

A remedy used for inflammations.

Antiscorbutic

A remedy used to fight scurvy.

Antisialogogue

A medicine used to decrease a heavy flow of saliva.

Antispasmodic

A medicine used to reduce muscle cramps or spasms.

Antisyphilitic

A medicine used to cure syphilis.

Aphonia

Laryngitis

Aphtha / Aphthae

The infantile disease thrush.

Aphthous Fever

See Thrush.

Aphthous Stomatitis

Mouth ulcer. See also Canker.

Apoplexy

Hemorrhage of a blood vessel in the brain; a sudden loss of sensation; paralysis due to stroke.

Ascites

A large collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity; dropsy of the abdomen.

Asfetidia

A short perennial herb that produces a resinous gum used as an antispasmodic and flavoring.

Asthenia

See Debility.

Asylum

A place of refuge for the care of orphans and, more usually, for the confinement of the insane.

Atrophy

Wasting.

Axes

The ague, generally fits or attacks.

⇑

Bacteremia

See Blood poisoning.

Bad Blood

See Syphilis

Balm

An aromatic substance consisting of resin mixed with volatile oils, much prized for its fragrance and medicinal properties.

Balsam

An aromatic oily medicine used for external application to heal wounds or soothe pain.

Barrel Fever

Sickness produced by immoderate drinking.

Beal

A pimple; a pustule.

Bechic

Pectoral; a medicine for relieving coughs.

Bedehouse

A hospital; an alms house.

Belladonna

A medicine to calm the digestive system, derived from the Deadly Nightshade plant.

Bethlehem

A hospital for the mentally ill.

Bethlehemite

A mentally ill person.

Bilious Fever

Intestinal or malarial fevers. See also Typhus.

Bilious

Having an undue amount of bile.

Biliousness

Nausea, abdominal pains, headache, and constipation. Also jaundice associated with liver disease.

Bistoury

Surgical instrument for making incisions.

Bitters

A tonic made of alcohol and a vegetable infusion.

Black-Pudding

A food made of blood and grain.

Black Death or Black Plague

Bubonic Plague, an infectious fever caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis.

Black Dog

Depression.

Black Drink

A drink made of leaves used by the Indians of the Southern U.S. as a ceremonial drink and as a medicine.

Black Jaundice

Wiel's disease, a bacterial infection of the liver carried by rats.

Black Pox

Black Smallpox.

Black Vomit

Vomiting caused by the presence of old blood in the stomach due to conditions such as a bleeding ulcer or yellow fever.

Blood Poisoning

Septicaemia, an infection throughout the body.

Blood Stone

A stone worn as an amulet and thought to be a preventive for nosebleeds.

Bloody Flux

Dysentery; discharges from the bowels mixed with blood.

Bloody Sweat

A sweat accompanied by a discharge of blood; a disease called sweating sickness.

Bloughty

Swollen.

Boil

An abscess of skin or painful inflammation of the skin or a hair follicle usually caused by a staphylococcal infection.

Bone-Shave

Sciatica, hip-gout.

Bowel Complaint

Any gastrointestinal disorder.

Brain Fever

Meningitis or Typhus.

Breakbone

Dengue fever.

Bright's Disease

Chronic inflammatory disease of the kidneys.

Bronchial Asthma

A difficulty in breathing, caused by spasm of the bronchi (the tubes of the lungs).

Bronchial Catarrh

Acute Bronchitis

Bronchocele

Enlarged thyroid gland.

Bronze John

Yellow fever.

Bronzed Skin Disease

See Addison's Disease.

Brucellosis

An infectious fever contracted from contaminated milk.

Bule

A boil, tumor, or swelling.

Bursten

Hernia or rupture.

⇑

Caccagague

An ointment made of alum and honey, used as a laxative.

Cachexy

An extreme condition of the body caused by malnutrition.

Cacogastric

An upset stomach.

Cacopathy

A severe affliction or malady.

Cacospysy

A bad or irregular pulse rhythm.

Cacotrophy

Condition of the body due to poor nutrition.

Caducous

Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy.

Calefacient

A medical agent that produces warmth or a sense of heat.

Caligo

Dimming of the sight.

Calmative

Sedative.

Calomel

A purgative or laxative made from mercurous chloride.

Camp Diarrhoea

See Typhus.

Camp Fever

See Typhus.

Camphor Cerate

A preparation for external application consisting of wax, camphor, and other medicinal ingredients used in treating colds.

Camphor

An odorous substance used in pharmacy products, formerly as an antaphrodasiac.

Cancrum Otis

An erosive ulcer of the cheek and lip resulting from poor hygiene.

Canine Madness

Hydrophobia (Rabies).

Canker

An ulcerous sore of the mouth and lips. Possibly includes herpes simplex infections. See Cancrum Otis.

Cankery

Gangrenous.

Cardiac Insufficiency

Where the heart is no longer able to pump efficiently.

Carditis

Inflammation of the heart.

Catalepsy

A disease characterized by a seizure or trance wherin sensation and consciousness are suspended.

Cataplasm

A poultice.

Catarrh

Cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy, it later came to mean an inflammation of the mucous membrane which caused profuse running of the eyes and nose.

Catarrh

Epidemic Influenza.

Cathartic

A purgative or strong laxative.

Causary

Dismissal from military service due to ill health.

Cephalic

A medicine for headache or other disorders of the head.

Cerebrospinal Fever

See Meningitis.

Chalkstones

Swelling with pain that probably was caused by rheumatoid arthritis or gout.

Charnel House

A vault or house under or near a church where bones of the dead are kept.

Chilblain

An inflammatory swelling of the hands and feet caused by exposure to cold.

Childbed Fever

Infection following birth of a child; puerperal fever.

Chin-cough

A contagious disease, sometimes called whooping cough, characterized by breathing difficulties, and in its worst stage, convulsions.

Chiropodist

One who treats diseases of the hands and feet.

Chlorosis

The sickness common to females and characterized by a pale or greenish hue of the skin, weakness, palpitation, and dyspepsia.

Cholagogue

A medicine for diminishing excess bile.

Cholecystitis

Inflammation of the gall bladder.

Cholelithiasis

Stones in the gall bladder or bile duct.

Cholera Infantum

A common, non-contagious diarrhoea of young children, occurring in summer or autumn.

Cholera Morbus

Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc. See Cholera Infantum. Could also be appendicitis.

Cholera

Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing.

Choleric Fever of Children

See Cholera Infantum.

Chorea

A diseases of the nervous system, characterised by jerky movements chiefly of the face and extremities. See St. Vitus' Dance.

Chronic

Of long standing as opposed to acute which means of recent origin.

Clap-Doctor

One who is skilled in healing the clap, a venereal disease (gonorrhea).

Clyster

A medicine injected into the rectum which cleansed the bowels and afforded nutrition; an enema.

Cold Plague

A kind of ague in which the body suffered extreme chills.

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.

Common Lupus

See Lupus Vulgaris.

Confined

Constipated.

Congestion

The accumulation of matter in the body such as in abscesses or tumors; the accumulation of blood in one part of the body.

Congestive Fever

See Malaria

Congestive

Chills/Fever/Malaria.

Consumption

Pulmonary tuberculosis; a wasting away of the body.

Convulsions

Violent, involuntary muscular contractions of the extremities, trunk, and head. See also epilepsy.

Coqueluche

An epidemic of catarrh; later, of whooping cough.

Cordial

That which suddenly invigorates the system and stimulates the action of the heart or blood circulation; any medicine which increases strength or raises the spirits.

Corpse Viewer

A coroner.

Correction House

A facility to provide rehabilitation for the insane and petty lawbreakers.

Corruption

Infected condition.

Coryza

a cold. See also Catarrh.

Costiveness

Constipation.

Cramp Colic

Appendicitis.

Creeping Paralysis

A term that encompasses multiple sclerosis

Crop-Sickness

Sickness from an overextended stomach, usually from excess eating or drinking.

Croup

A disease known scientifically as acute obstructive laryngitis, diphtheria, or occasionally strep throat.

Cupping

Drawing blood using a cup from which the air has been removed.

Cyanosis

Blueness of the skin due to lack of oxygen.

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.

Cynanche

Diseases of the throat, characterized by inflammation, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing.

Cystitis

Inflammation of the bladder.

Cystotomy

The act of opening encysted tumors to discharge morbid matter.

⇑

Daturine

A drug used to treat seizures and mental disorders.

Day Fever

A fever of a day's duration or coming on in the daytime; the sweating sickness.

Debility

Abnormal bodily weakness or feebleness; decay of strength.

Delirium Tremens

A condition found in persons whose use of alcohol is excessive resulting in hallucinations, both visual and auditory.

Dementia Praecox

Schizophrenia, a mental disorder.

Dengue

An acute infectious fever, characterized by excruciating pain in the joints but seldom proving fatal.

Dentition

Cutting of the teeth.

Deplumation

A tumor of the eyelids which results in loss of hair.

Diacodion

Medicine made from poppies and therefore containing morphine or related substances.

Diaphoretic

A medicine or preparation that induces perspiration.

Diaphragmatitis

Inflammation of the diaphragm.

Diary Fever

A fever that lasts one day.

Diet-Drink

Medicated liquors or drink prepared with medicinal ingredients.

Digitalis

A medicine used as a heart stimulant, prepared from the fox-glove.

Diphtheria

An acute and often fatal infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract in which a membrane grows across the throat.

Dock Fever

Yellow Fever.

Domestic Malady

Depression or other emotional breakdown.

Double Personality

Manic depression.

Dropsy of the Brain

Encephalitis.

Dropsy

An abnormal collection of fluid in the tissues and cavities of the body; edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease.

Dry Bellyache

Lead poisoning.

Dyscrasy

An ill habit or state of the bodily humors; an abnormal condition of the body.

Dysentery

Inflammation of the intestine.

Dysorexy

A diminished appetite.

Dyspepsia

Bad digestion usually involving weakness, loss of appetite, and depression.

Dysury

Difficulty in discharging urine, accompanied by pain and a sensation of heat.

⇑

Earth-Bath

A medical treatment in which the patient was buried up to the shoulders in the ground.

Eclampsia

A form of toxaemia accompanying pregnancy.

Eclampsy

A symptom of epilepsy; convulsions during pregnancy.

Ecstasy

In medicine, a species of catalepsy, wherin reason is temporarily suspended.

Edema of Lungs

Congestive heart failure or a form of dropsy.

Edema

Nephrosis; a swelling of tissues.

Edematous

Swelling with a serous humor; dropsical.

Effluvia

Exhalations. In the mid 19th century, they were called "vapours".

Elephantiasis

A species of leprosy, so called from the skin being covered with incrustations, marked by a thickening and greasiness of the legs, loss of hair and feeling, swelling of the face, and a hoarse nasal voice.

Elixir

A drug or medicine supposed to have the power to prolong life; cure-all; eventually, quack medicine.

Endocarditis

Disease of the heart valves that can result from Rheumatic Fever.

Enteric Fever

See Typhoid Fever.

Enteritis

Inflammation of the bowels, usually acute rather then chronic.

Enterocolitis

An inflammation affecting both the small and large intestine.

Epilepsy

A disorder of the nervous system.

Epistaxis

A nose bleed.

Epithelial

Of or pertaining to epithelium, cancerous cells.

Erysipelas

A skin disease caused by strep infection which devastates the blood.

Excrescence

An unnatural or disfiguring outgrowth of the skin.

Extravasated Blood

Ruptured blood vessel.

⇑

Falling Sickness

Epilepsy.

Febrifuge

Any substance such as a plant, root, or herb that reduces fever.

Febrile

Being feverish or having a high temperature.

Felon

An infection on the end of a finger or toe.

Fermacy

A pharmacy.

Fever Powder

A remedy for subduing or curing fever.

Fistula

An abnormal passage from an abscess or cavity to the skin or to another abscess.

Fleam

Surgical knife used for opening veins for letting blood.

Flux of Humor

Circulation.

Flux

An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea; the drainage or discharge of liquid from a body cavity.

French Pox

Venereal disease, See Syphilis.

Furuncle

A small tumor or boil, with inflammation and pain, under the skin.

⇑

G.P.I

General Paralysis of the Insane. The third and final stage of Syphilis.

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.

Gangrenous Stomatitis

See Cancrum Otis.

Gangrenous Ulceration of the Mouth

See Cancrum Otis.

Gastritis

Inflammation of the stomach.

Gastrocele

A ruptured stomach.

Gathering

A collection of pus; an abscess.

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.

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.

Great Pox

See Syphilis

Green Sickness or Green Fever

Anemia; chlorosis; a disease of young women giving the complexion a greenish tinge.

Grippe

Influenza.

Grocer's Itch

A cutaneous disease caused by mites in sugar and flour.

⇑

Haemorrhoids

Piles.

Headmouldshot

This is when the sutures of the skull, generally the coronal, ride; that is, have their edges shot over one another.

Heat Sickness

A condition marked especially by cessation of sweating and extremely high body temperature, caused by a loss of salt from the body.

Hectic Fever

Recurring fever with sweating, chills, and flushing.

Hectical Complaint

A remittent fever with stages of chilliness, heat, and sweat; (rare) a person suffering with tuberculosis.

Hematemesis / Haematemesis

Vomiting blood.

Hematuria / Haematuria

A discharge of bloody urine.

Hemoptysis / Haemoptysis

Spitting up blood from the larynx, trachea, bronchi, or lungs.

Hepatitis

Inflammation of the liver.

Herpes Zoster

Shingles.

Hip Gout

Osteomyelitis.

Hives

An allergic skin disorder, often attended by severe itching.

Hospital Fever

See Typhus.

Hospital Fever

See Typhus.

Huntington's Chorea

A nervous disorder, accompanied by increasing mental deterioration.

Hydrocele

Dropsy of the testicles

Hydrocephalus

An abnormal increase in the amount of fluid in the cranium, causing enlargement of the head and loss of mental powers.

Hydropericardium

Heart dropsy.

Hydrophobia

Dread of water; a symptom of canine madness (rabies).

Hydrops

Dropsy.

Hydrothorax

Dropsy in the chest; an abnormal amount of fluid in the pleural cavity.

Hyertropy of Heart

Enlargement of the heart.

Hysteritis

Inflammation of the womb.

Hysterotomy

A Cesarean section.

⇑

Icterus

Jaundice.

Ileus

An obstruction of the intestines resulting in severe constipation and pain.

Impetigo

Any of certain contagious skin diseases characterized by the eruption of pustules, caused by staphylococci.

Imposthume

A collection of purulent matter in a bag or cyst.

Inanition

Decline from inadequate nourishment; starvation.

Infantile Paralysis

Polio (Poliomylitis)

Intestinal Colic

Pain throughout the abdomen, usually caused by an improper diet.

Intussusception

The condition where part of the intestine has slipped into another part just below it.

⇑

Jail Fever

See Typhus.

Jalap

A purgative medicine made from the root of the Mexican Jelap.

Jaundice

Condition caused by blockage of intestines, characterized by yellowness of the skin, fluids, and tissues, and by constipation, loss of appitite, and weakness.

⇑

Kidney Stone

See Gravel.

Kings Evil

Scrofula, a tubercular infection of the throat lymph glands.

⇑

Lagrippe

See Influenza.

Laryngismus Stridulus

A condition, usually associated with boys under the age of two afflicted with rickets, in which the muscles of the voice box go into spasms causing shortness of breath and a ‘crowing' sound.

Laudanum

Any of various pain killing preparations in which opium was the main ingredient.

Lazaretto

A hospital, building, or a ship where diseased persons are quarantined.

Lead poisoning

Common in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Leech

A physician; a leech used for drawing blood.

Lent-Evil

The ague.

Leprosy

Long lasting disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae AKA Hanson's Disease.

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.

Lientery

A flux of the bowels in which the aliments are discharged undigested.

Livergrown

having a great liver. (Possibly as a result of high alcohol consumption!)

Lockjaw

Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw. Fatal if untreated in 8 days.

Locomotor Ataxia

A movement disorder caused by syphilitic infection of the spinal cord.

Long Sickness

See Tuberculosis.

Lues Venera

Venereal Disease

Lues

See Syphilis.

Lumbago

A pain in the loins and small of the back, such as precedes certain fevers.

Lunatic

Mad, having the imagination influenced by the moon.

Lung Fever

See Pneumonia.

Lung Sickness

See Tuberculosis.

Lupus Erythematosus

A chronic disease causing degeneration of connective tissue.

Lupus Vulgaris

A chronic tubercular infection of the skin involving soft yellow swellings, ulcers and abscesses.

Lying In

Refers to the period around childbirth.

⇑

Madstone

A small porous stone which supposedly absorbed venom from a snake bite and cured hydrophobia (rabies).

Malaria

A disease caused by parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted by the bites of insects such as mosquitoes.

Malignant Fever

See Typhus.

Malignant Fever

See Typhus.

Malignant Sore Throat

Diphtheria

Mania Puerperium

A mental disorder affecting new mothers.

Mania

insanity

Marasmus

A disease characterized by progressive deterioration of body tissue, usually due to severe malnutrition or protracted intestinal disorders.

Measles

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).

Melanuric

Malarial fever, black-water fever.

Membranous Croup

Diphtheria.

Menagogue

A medicine that promotes menstrual flux.

Meningitis

Inflation of the membranes of the brain or spinal cord.

Menorrhagia

Flooding, excessive menstrual bleeding.

Miasma

Poisonous vapor formerly supposed to arise from decomposing animal or vegetable matter, swamps, etc., and infect the air.

Miliary Fever

Small pustules or vesicles on the skin, so called as they resemble millet seed.

Milk Fever

A fever accompanying the first flowing of milk in females after childbirth.

Milk Leg

Thrombosis of veins in the legs caused by lying in bed too long after childbirth. It leads to ulceration of the skin.

Milk Sickness

A disease, once common in the western U.S., caused by drinking the milk, eating mild products, of flesh of cattle that have eaten any of various poisonous weeds.

Morbus addisonii

See Addison's Disease.

Morbus Gallicus

See Syphilis.

Morbus

Disease.

Mormal

See Gangrene.

Morphew

A scurvy eruption on the body.

Morphine (Morphinism)

A chronic intoxication due to the habitual use of morphine or of opium in some other form.

Mortification

Infection, often used for gangrene or necrosis. A state of corruption, or losing the vital qualities; gangrene.

Myelitis

Inflammation of the spinal cord or bone marrow.

Myocarditis

Inflammation of the muscular walls of the heart.

⇑

Naples Disease

See Syphilis.

Natural Decay

Death through old age is frequently shown on death certificates as natural decay.

Necrosis

The death of tissue; mortification, especially of the bones.

Nephritic

A purgative medicine to relieve or cure disorders of the kidneys, particularly gravel or stone in the bladder.

Nephritis

Inflammation of the kidney.

Nephrosis

Kidney degeneration, without signs of inflammation, due to the failure of fluid to be passed on through the kidneys to the bladder for disposal.

Nephrotomy

The operation of extracting a stone from the kidney.

Nervine

A medicine for relief of nervous disorders.

Neuralgia

An affection of one or more nerves causing intermittent but frequent pain.

Neurasthenia

Neurotic condition.

Noma

See Cancrum Otis.

Nostrum

A panacea or quack medicine, the ingredients of which were kept secret.

⇑

Oedema

Swelling caused by retention of fluid such as might occur with a weakened heart.

Onkotomy

The opening of a tumor or abscess.

Opiate

Any medicine that induces sleep or respite; a narcotic.

Opthalmitis

Inflammation of the eye.

Ossification

The formation of bone; the process of becoming or changing into bone.

Osteo Sarcoma

A disease or sarcoma of the bony tissue, characterized by a fleshy growth.

Osteopathy

A theory of disease and method of cure based on the assumption that loss of structural integrity of the skeleton is the cause of most diseases.

Otitis

Inflammation of the ear.

⇑

Palsy

The loss or defect of the power of voluntary muscular motion in all or part of the body; paralysis.

Panacea

A universal remedy for all diseases.

Paregoric

A camphorated tincture of opium that soothes or lessens pain.

Paristhmitis

See Quinsy.

Paroxysm

A fit of higher excitement or emotion in a disease; convulsion.

Parrot's Bill

A surgeon's pincers.

Parturition

Childbirth.

Pemphigus

A skin disease characterized by the formation of watery blisters.

Pepastic

A medicine that serves to help digestion.

Pericarditis

Inflammation of the sac around the heart.

Peripneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs.

Peritonitis

Inflammation of the peritoneal cavity in which the intestines lie.

Pertussis

Whooping Cough.

Pesthouse

A house or hospital for persons infected with a contagious disease.

Pestis

See Black Death

Petechial Fever

A small red or purple spot in the skin occurring in certain fevers. See Typhus.

Pharmacopoeist

A person who sells medicines; an apothecary.

Phlebotomy

The act of opening a vein for letting blood.

Phlegmasia Alba Dolens

See Milk Leg.

Phlegmasia

General term for inflammation.

Phrenitis

Formerly inflammation of the brain, with acute fever and delirium; inflammation of the diaphragm.

Phthiriasis

Infestation of lice.

Phthisis

A progressive wasting away of the body, such as tuberculosis, pulmonary consumption, etc.

Pink Disease

Disease in children caused by mercury poisoning from the use of mercury salts in teething powders.

Pityriasis

A condition of the skin characterized by the formation and falling off of scales; dandruff.

Pleurisy

An inflammation of the pleura (membrane) that covers the inside of the thorax, accompanied with fever, pain, and cough.

Pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs produced by infections such as Diplococcus pneumoniae or Klebsiella pneumonia.

Pneumonitis

Inflammation of the lungs.

Podagra

Gout in the feet.

Poliomyelitis

An inflammation of the anterior horn cells in the gray matter of the spinal cord; Infantile Paralysis; Polio.

Potter's Asthma

A form of fibroid phthisis to which persons exposed to the dust of the pottery industry are subject.

Potts Disease

Tuberculosis of the spine leading to degeneration of the vertebrae.

Poultice

A soft, hot, moist substance as of flour, meal, bran, flax seed, or similar substances, applied to sores, or inflamed parts of the body.

Probang

An instrument of whalebone and sponge used for removing obstructions in the throat.

Prostatitis / Prostitis

Inflammation of the prostate gland.

Psoas Abscess

An abscess of the loin muscle, usually associated with tuberculosis.

Puerperal Exhaustion

The condition of which a woman died during childbirth.

Puerperal Fever

Childbed fever; septic poisoning which sometimes occurred during childbirth.

Puerperium

A woman's confinement during and immediately after childbirth.

Puking Fever

Milk sickness.

Purples

spots of a livid colour, which break out in malignant fevers.

Putrid Fever

A name for Typhus Fever or Diphtheria.

Putrid Sore Throat

Ulceration of an acute form, attacking the tonsils, see also Quinsy.

Pyrexia

See Dysentery.

⇑

Quinine

A bitter, crystalline alkaloid, extracted from Cinchona Bark, used especially in the treatment of Malaria.

Quinsy

An inflammation of the tonsils accompanied by the formation of pus.

⇑

Remitting Fever

See Malaria.

Revulsion

The act of diverting humors or any cause of disease from one part of the body to another.

Rheumatismus

Rheumatism.

Rickets

A disease of the skeletal system resulting from a deficiency of Calcium or Vitamin D in the diet, or from lack of sunlight.

Rigor

A stiffness and rigidity of the body which does not respond to stimuli; shivering or trembling with a chill preceding a fever.

Rising of the Lights

See Croup.

Rubeola

See German Measles.

⇑

Sanguinous Crust

A scab.

Sarcoma

See Cancer.

Saxifrage

A medicine that has the property of dissolving stones in the bladder.

Scaldhead

A scab infection of the head.

Scarlatina

Scarlet Fever; commonly referred to as the canker rash.

Scarlet Rash

See Roseola.

Sciatica

Rheumatism in the hip.

Scirrhus

A cancerous tumor on any part of the body, usually made up of fibrous connective tissue.

Scotomy

Dizziness or nausea, with dimness of sight.

Screws

See Rheumatism

Scrumpox

Impetigo

Scrivener's Palsy

Writer's cramp.

Scrofula

A disease, called the King's Evil, characterized by tumors in the glands of the neck; tuberculosis of lymph glands.

Scrumpox

A pustular disease of the skin; impetigo.

Scurvy

A disease characterized by great debility, a pale bloated face, and bleeding spongy gums, indicant to persons who live confined, or on salted meats without fresh vegetables.

Senile Decay

See Natural Decay.

Septicemia

Blood poisoning.

Sequela

A diseased condition resulting from a previous sickness.

Shakes

A convulsive trembling, often accompanying intermittent fever, alcoholism, etc.

Shaking

The ague; a chill.

Shingles

An acute viral disease marked by small blisters on the skin along the course of a nerve.

Ship Fever

See Typhus.

Sirasis

An inflammation of the brain, caused by excessive heat of the sun; a frenzy peculiar to children.

Sloes

Milk sickness.

Small pox

Contagious disease with fever and blisters.

Smoker's Patch

A smooth, white patch on the tongue due to excessive smoking.

Softening of the Brain

Apoplexy.

Spanish Disease

See Syphilis.

Spanish Influenza

Pandemic Influenza.

Spina Bifida

A deformity of the base of the spine.

Spital

A hospital for the very poor and those having leprosy or other loathsome diseases.

Spittle

A hospital.

Splenitits

Inflammation of the spleen.

Spotted Fever

Cerebrospinal meningitis fever, characterized by inflammation of the cerebrospinal membranes; Also See typhus.

Sprue

A chronic tropical disease characterized by anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, sore throat, etc.

St. Anthony's Fire

See Erysipelas.

St. Vitus Dance

a twitching of the limbs consequent on streptococcal infections also known as chorea Sancti Viti.

Stomatitis

Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.

Stranger's Fever

See Yellow Fever.

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.

Strangury

A difficult and painful discharge of urine.

Strophulus

Prickly heat.

Struma

Goiter or scrofula.

Sudor Anglicus

Sweating sickness.

Summer Complaint

Diarrhea, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk.

Summer Complaint

See Cholera Infantum.

Suppurating

Producing pus.

Surgeon

A person who served as a barber, as well as one who practiced medicine.

Sweating Sickness

An acute, infectious, rapidly fatal disease epidemic in England in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Syncope

A fainting or loss of consciousness caused by a temporary deficiency of blood to the brain.

Synochus

Fever

Syphilis

Long lasting contagious venereal disease caused by Treponema pallidum

Syphilitica

Pertaining to the disease Syphilis.

⇑

Tabes Dorsalis

Tubercular infection of the spine.

Tabes Mesenterica

Tubercular infection of the lymph glands in the abdomen.

Tabes

Slow progressive emaciation of the body or its parts.

Tansy

Anacetum vulgare, a bitter and aromatic plant, used to reduce fever.

Tartar Emetic

A poisonous, white, crystalline salt used to increase perspiration and cause coughing, spitting, and vomiting.

Tetanus

An infectious, often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which enters the body through wounds. Synonyms: trismus, lockjaw.

Tetter

Any of various skin diseases, such as eczema and impetigo.

Thrombosis

A clot formation inside a blood vessel.

Thrush

A disease, usually contracted by children, caused by a fungus and characterized by milky-white lesions on the membranes of the mouth, lips, and throat.

Tincture-

A substance with medicinal properties, usually in an alcoholic solvent.

Trembles

A disease of cattle and sheep caused by eating any of various poisonous weeds and characterized by muscular tremors and a stumbling gait.

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).

Typhus

An acute, infectious disease caused by the parasite Rickettsia prowazekii, transmitted by lice and fleas.

⇑

Ulceration

Loss of the surface covering, such as of skin or the mucous lining, of the intestine.

Undulant Fever

See Brucellosis.

⇑

Varicella

Chicken pox

Variola

See Smallpox

Varioloid

A mild form of Variola (Smallpox) occurring in a person who has had a previous attack or who has been vaccinated.

Venesection

The opening of a vein for letting blood; Phlebotomy.

Vermifuge

Serving to expel worms and other parasites from the intestinal tract.

⇑

Wasting

Destructive to health or vigor, as a disease; wasting palsy; progressive muscular atrophy.

Water Canker

See Cancrum Otis.

Water Gripes

See Cholera Infantum.

Weaning Brash

See Cholera Infantum.

White Leg

See Milk Leg.

Whooping Cough

See Chin Cough.

Willow Bark

An analgesic and anti-inflammatory herb.

Winter Fever

Pneumonia.

Wool Sorters' Disease

Anthrax.

Worm fever

May have been used to indicate a fever or enteritis during which worms were passed in the feces. It is given as a cause of death of children in the early 19th century.

Worm Fit

Infantile convulsions, usually a reflex action associated with teething, worms, rickets, fever, or diarrhea.

Worms

Any of the various ailments caused by the working of a worm or resulting in a worm shaped tumor or growth.

⇑

No terms starting with X

⇑

Yellow Jack

Yellow fever. A devastating, mosquito-borne viral disease.

⇑

No Terms starting with Z

⇑