(Civil War) 19th Century Medical Terminology
Page Compiled by Alma E Dailey-Harings
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Abcpsia (ABLEPSIA) | blindness |
| Abscessus |
A swollen, inflamed area of the body where pus gathers |
| Acute |
Severe |
| Aegrotantem | illness, sickness |
| Aglutitio |
inability
to swallow, frequently found on death certificates |
| Ague |
recurring fever and chills of malaria |
| 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 |
| Ancome |
an ulcerous
swelling, a boil |
| Ambustio | A burn or scald |
| Anasaica ( ANASCARCA) | Generalized edema or generalized dropsy |
| Anchylosis |
A stiffening of the joints |
| Aphonia |
A lost of voice due to organic or psychological
causes. Also known as Laryngitis |
| Aphtha |
The infant disease known as thrush |
| Apoplexy |
stroke |
| Ascetics |
Accumulation of serious fluid in the abdominal
cavity |
| ASPHYCSIA/ASPHICSIA |
Cyanotic and lack of oxygen |
| ATROPHY |
Wasting away or
diminishing in size. |
| Bad Blood |
syphilis |
| BARREL FEVER |
sickness
produced by immoderate drinking |
| Bilious fever |
fever caused by liver disorder |
| Black Death |
Bubonic
plague |
| Black Fever |
Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin
lesions and high mortality rate |
| Black Lung |
|
| Black Pox |
Black Small pox |
| Black water Fever |
Dark urine associated with high temperature |
| Bladder in Throat |
Diphtheria (Seen on Death Certificates) |
| Blood Poisoning |
Bacterial infection; septicemia |
| Bloody Flux |
dysentery |
| Bloody Sweat |
a sweat accompanied by a discharge of blood |
| Bone Shave |
Sciatica |
| Brain Fever |
Meningitis |
| Breakbone |
Dengue Fever |
| Bright's Disease |
inflammation of the kidneys-in it's acute form, it
is called "nephritis". |
| Cachexy |
Malnutrition |
| Catarrh | Inflammation of mucous membrane most commonly in the throat and nose, accompanied by an increased secretion mucous, sometimes accompanied by fever, or, rarely cerebral hemorrhage |
| Cacospysy |
irregular pulse |
| Cacogastric |
Upset Stomach |
| Canker |
Ulceration of mouth or lips aka herpes simplex 2 |
| Catalepsy |
seizures/trances |
| Cerebritis |
Inflammation of the cerebrum or lead poisoning |
| Cephalalgia | Headache |
| Caduceus |
Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy |
| Camp Fever |
Typhus |
| Canine Madness |
Rabies, hydrophobia |
| Chilblain | swelling of the extremities caused by exposure to cold |
| Child Bed Fever |
Infection following childbirth |
| Chin Cough/Whooping Cough | Characterized by breathing difficulties and in its worst stage,
convulsions |
| Chorea | disease characterized by convulsions and contortions |
| Cholera |
Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal
lining sloughing |
| Cholera Morbus |
Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps,
elevated temp., etc. (Appendicitis?) |
| Cholecystitus |
Inflammation of the gall bladder |
| Cholelithiasis |
Gall Stones |
| Coryza |
A cold |
| Chlorosis |
Iron Deficiency anemia |
| Chronic | Continuing for a long period of time |
| Colic (Colic) | Acute abdominal pains, caused by abnormal condition of the bowel |
| Communis | ?? |
| Congestiva | Excessive accumulation of blood in parts of the body |
| Congestive Fever (Chills) | Malaria |
| Conjunctivitis | Inflammation of the eye or eyelid |
| Consecutiva | Unrelated illness following another |
| Constiveness | Constipation |
| Consumption | Tuberculosis |
| Continua | Without interruption |
| Contusion | A bruise or injury where the skin is not broken |
| Cramp Colic | appendicitis |
| Cretinism | congenital hypothyroidism |
| Crop Sickness | overextended stomach |
| Croup | laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat |
| Day Fever |
a fever of a day's duration or coming on in the daytime;
|
| Debilitates |
Weakness or feebleness |
| Debility | Weakness or feebleness |
| Decrepitude |
Feebleness due to old age |
| Delirium Tremens | hallucinations & seizures due to alcohol withdrawal |
| Dengue |
Infectious fever endemic to East Africa |
| Dentition |
Cutting of teeth |
| Deplumation |
Tumor of the eyelids which causes hairloss |
| Diary Fever |
A fever that lasts only one day |
| Diphtheria | contagious disease of the throat |
| Dock Fever |
yellow fever |
| Dresser | surgeon's assistant in a hospital |
| Dropsy of the Brain | encephalitis |
| Dropsy | edema (or collection of fluid) in the tissues and cavities of
the body. i.e.: congestive heart failure |
| Dropsy of the Brain |
encephalitis |
| Dry Belly Ache |
Lead Poisoning |
| Dysentery | Inflammation of intestinal membrane |
| Dyspepsia | bad acid indigestion |
| Encephalitis | swelling of the brain, aka sleeping sickness |
| Enteritis | inflammation of the bowels |
| Erysipelas (Erysipelas) aka Saint Anthony's Fire | A skin disease caused by strep infection which devastates the
blood |
| Febris | fever |
| Falling Sickness |
Epilepsy |
| Fits |
Sudden attack or seizure |
| Flux | discharge of fluid from the body ( i.e.: hemorrhage or diarrhea) |
| French Pox |
Syphilis |
| Flux of Humor |
Circulation |
| Galloping Consumption | Pulmonary Tuberculosis |
| Gathering |
a collection of pus |
| Glandular Fever | mononucleosis |
| Goiter |
a non cancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland,
visible as a swelling at the front of the neck, that is often associated with
an iodine deficiency |
| Gout |
a disturbance
of uric acid metabolism occurring predominantly in males, characterized
by painful inflammation of the joints, especially of the feet and hands |
| Green Sickness | Anemia |
| Graves Disease |
disorder of the thyroid gland |
| Grocer's Itch |
a cotaneous
disease caused by mites in sugar and flour |
| Gripe/La Grippe | Influenza |
| Heat Sickness |
a condition marked especially by cessation of
sweating and extremely high body temperature, caused by a loss of salt from the body |
| Heat Stroke |
Body temperature
elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not
perspire to reduce temperature. Coma and death result if not reversed |
| Hemophthis | Spitting of blood |
| Hemorrhia | Heavy Bleeding |
| Herpes | An inflammatory virus disease of the skin or mucous membranes |
| Incipt Hydrothorax | An abnormal amount of watery fluid in the pleural cavity |
| Infantile Paralysis | polio |
| Intermittent (intermittent) | Stopping and Starting |
| Impetigo |
Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules |
| Inanition |
Physical condition resulting from a lack of food
|
| Intestinal colic |
abdominal pain due to improper diet |
| Jail Fever | typhus |
| Jaundice | yellowing of the skin due to liver dysfunction (hyperbilirubinemia) |
| King's Evil |
Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands |
| Kruchhusten |
whooping cough |
| Lock Jaw | tetanus |
| Lumbago | Back pain |
| Lying In |
time of delivery of infant |
| Lues disease (venera) |
venereal disease syphilis |
| Lung Fever | pneumonia |
| Lung Sickness | tuberculosis |
| Mania | insanity |
| Miasma | poisonous vapors thought to infect the air |
| Marasmus |
Progressive wasting away of a body like malnutrition |
| Meningitis |
Inflammation of the brain and/or spinal cord |
| Milk Leg |
Post Partum thrombophlebitis (occurred most often
in Native American women) Swelling of the legs after birth |
| Milk Sickness (Fever) | disease from the milk from cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds |
| Morbi Cutis | A skin disease |
| Morsal (Mormal) | Gangrene |
| Mortis | death |
| Morphew |
Scurvy blisters of the body |
| Myelitis | inflammation of the spine |
| Myocarditits | inflammation of the heart muscles |
| Necrosis | mortification of bones or tissue, usually skin |
| Nephritis | inflammation of the kidneys |
| Nervous Prostration |
Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical
and mental activities |
| Neurasthenia |
neurotic condition characterized by worry, disturbances
of digestion and circulation and attributed to emotional conflict and feelings
of inferiority |
| Obit | died |
| Ophthalmic |
Relating to the Eye(s) |
| Otalgia | Earache |
| Palsy | paralysis or loss of muscle control |
| Paronychia | A painful, pus producing inflammation at the end of a toe or finger |
| Parotitis | Mumps |
| Paroxysm | convulsion |
| Phlegmon | Inflammation, especially of the connective tissues, leading to ulceration or abscess |
| Phthisis Pulmonalis | A wasting away of the body or any part as in tuberculosis |
| Pleurisy | Inflammation of the lung |
| Pleuritis | Pleurisy |
| Podagra | gout |
| Pott's Disease | tuberculosis of the spinal vertebrae |
| Pox | Syphilis |
| Pulmonalis | Relating to the heart |
| Putrid Fever | diphtheria or typhus |
| Qyotidiana | A fever occurring or returning daily |
| Remittent (Remittent) | A fever that drops, but does not altogether disappear |
| Rickets | disease of the skeletal system |
| Rubella |
Measles |
| Scarlet Fever | disease characterized by a red rash and sore |
| Scorbutic |
Scurvy |
| Screws | Rheumatism |
| Scrofula | tuberculosis of the neck lymph nodes or lymphatic glands |
| Ship's Fever | Typhus |
| Softening of the Brain | apoplexy |
| Spotted Fever | typhus, cerebrospinal meningitis fever |
| St. Vitas Dance | Nervous twitches, chorea |
| Sub-Laxatio | An incomplete dislocation |
| Tick Fever |
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever |
| Toxaemia of Pregnancy |
Eclampsia |
| Trench Mouth |
Painful ulcers found along the gum line caused by
poor nutrition and poor hygiene |
| Typhus |
Infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache
and dizziness |
| Variola | Smallpox |
| Varix | Varicose veins |
| Venesection | Bleeding |
| Viper's Dance | St. Vitus' Dance, chorea |
| Vulnus Incisum | Relating to a wound caused by a cut |
| Vulnus Punctum | Relating to a wound caused by a puncture |
| Vulnus Sclopeticum | Relating to a wound caused by a gunshot wound |
| Vulnus | Relating to a wound |
| Whitlow | See Paronychia |
| Worm Fit |
Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated
temp or diarrhoea |
| Winter Fever | pneumonia |
| Yellow Jacket (Yellow Jack and General Yellow Jack) | Yellow Fever |
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Document created September 28, 2006