Genealogy World
Old World Diseases
Posted 7-Sep-1997
Ablepsy -- Blindness
Ague -- Malarial Fever
American plague -- Yellow fever.
Anasarca -- Generalized massive edema.
Aphonia -- Laryngitis.
Aphtha -- The infant disease "thrush".
Apoplexy -- Paralysis due to stroke.
Asphycsia/Asphicsia -- Cyanotic and lack of oxygen.
Atrophy -- Wasting away or diminishing in size.
Bad Blood -- Syphilis
Bilious fever -- Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile
emesis.
Biliousness -- Jaundice associated with liver disease.
Black plague or death -- Bubonic plague.
Black fever -- Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate.
Black pox -- Black Small pox
Black vomit -- Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever
Blackwater fever -- Dark urine associated with high temperature.
Bladder in throat -- Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)
Blood poisoning -- Bacterial infection; septicemia
Bloody flux -- Bloody stools
Bloody sweat -- Sweating sickness
Bone shave -- Sciatica
Brain fever -- Meningitis
Breakbone -- Dengue fever
Bright's disease -- Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys
Bronze John -- Yellow fever
Bule -- Boil, tumor or swelling.
Cachexy -- Malnutrition
Cacogastric -- Upset stomach
Cacospysy -- Irregular pulse.
Caduceus -- Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy.
Camp fever -- Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea
Canine madness -- Rabies, hydrophobia.
Canker -- Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex.
Catalepsy -- Seizures / trances.
Catarrhal -- Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy.
Cerebritis -- Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning
Chilblain -- Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold
Child bed fever -- Infection following birth of a child.
Chin cough -- Whooping cough.
Chlorosis -- Iron deficiency anemia.
Cholera -- Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing.
Cholera morbus -- Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc.
Cholecystitus -- Inflammation of the gall bladder
Cholelithiasis -- Gall stones
Chorea -- Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing.
Cold plague -- Ague which is characterized by chills
Colic -- An abdominal pain and cramping
Congestive chills -- Malaria
Consumption -- Tuberculosis.
Congestion -- Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs.
Congestive chills -- Malaria with diarrhea.
Congestive fever -- Malaria.
Corruption -- Infection
Coryza -- A cold.
Costiveness -- Constipation
Cramp colic -- Appendicitis
Crop sickness -- Overextended stomach
Croup -- Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
Cyanosis -- Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in blood
Cynanche -- Diseases of throat
Cystitis -- Inflammation of the bladder
Day fever -- Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness
Debility -- Lack of movement or staying in bed.
Decrepitude -- Feebleness due to old age
Delirium tremens -- Hallucinations due to alcoholism
Dengue -- Infectious fever endemic to East Africa
Dentition -- Cutting of teeth
Deplumation -- Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss
Diary fever -- A fever that lasts one day
Diptheria -- Contagious disease of the throat
Distemper -- Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia
Dock fever -- Yellow fever
Dropsy -- Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease.
Dropsy of the Brain -- Encephalitis
Dry Bellyache -- Lead poisoning
Dyscrasy -- An abnormal body condition
Dysentery -- Inflammation of colon with frequent passage
Dysorexy -- Reduced appetite of mucous and blood.
Dyspepsia -- Indigestion and heartburn. Heart attack symptoms.
Dysury -- Difficulty in urination
Eclampsy -- Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor
Ecstasy -- A form of catalepsy characterized by loss of reason
Edema -- Nephrosis; swelling of tissues
Edema of lungs -- Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy
Eel thing -- Erysipelas
Elephantiasis -- A form of leprosy
Encephalitis -- Swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness
Enteric fever -- Typhoid fever
Enterocolitis -- Inflammation of the intestines
Enteritis -- Inflations of the bowels
Epitaxis -- Nose bleed
Erysipelas -- Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions.
Extravasted blood -- Rupture of a blood vessel.
Falling sickness -- Epilepsy
Fatty Liver -- Cirrhosis of liver
Fits -- Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity.
Flux -- An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea.
Flux of humour -- Circulation.
French pox -- Syphilis
Gathering -- A collection of pus
Glandular fever -- Mononucleosis
Great pox -- Syphilis
Green fever / sickness -- Anemia
Grippe/grip -- Influenza like symptoms
Grocer's itch -- Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour
Heart sickness -- Condition caused by loss of salt from body
Heat stroke -- Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not perspire to reduce temperature. Coma and death result if not reversed
Hectical complaint -- Recurrent fever
Hematemesis -- Vomiting blood
Hematuria -- Bloody urine
Hemiplegy -- Paralysis of one side of body
Hip gout -- Osteomylitis
Horrors -- Delirium tremens
Hydrocephalus -- Enlarged head, water on the brain
Hydropericardium -- Heart dropsy
Hydrophobia -- Rabies
Hydrothroax -- Dropsy in chest
Hypertrophic -- Enlargement of organ, like the heart
Impetigo -- Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules
Inanition -- Physical condition resulting from lack of food
Infantile paralysis -- Polio
Intestinal colic -- Abdominal pain due to improper diet
Jail fever -- Typhus
Jaundice -- Condition caused by blockage of intestines
King's evil -- Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
Kruchhusten -- Whooping cough
Lagrippe -- Influenza.
Lockjaw -- Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw.
Long sickness -- Tuberculosis.
Lues disease -- Syphilis.
Lues venera -- Venereal disease.
Lumbago -- Back pain.
Lung fever -- Pneumonia
Lung sickness -- Tuberculosis
Lying in -- Time of delivery of infant.
Malignant sore throat -- Diphtheria.
Mania -- Insanity.
Marasmus -- Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition.
Membranous Croup -- Diphtheria
Meningitis -- Inflations of brain or spinal cord
Metritis -- Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge
Miasma -- Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air
Milk fever -- Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis
Milk leg -- Post partum thrombophlebitis; Milk Leg is "postpartum iliofemoral trombophlebitis", which in English means the condition characterized by painful swelling of the legs, caused by inflammation (swelling) & clotting of the femoral veins (those in the groin area). It is so called because it is most common during lactation (milk production) after childbirth.
Milk sickness -- Disease from milk of cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds
Mormal -- Gangrene
Morphew -- Scurvy blisters on the body
Mortification -- Gangrene of necrotic tissue
Myelitis -- Inflammation of the spine
Myocarditis -- Inflammation of heart muscles
Necrosis -- Mortification of bones or tissue
Nephrosis -- Kidney degeneration
Nepritis -- Inflammation of kidneys
Nervous prostration -- Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and
mental activities
Neuralgia -- Described as discomfort, such as "Headache" was neuralgia in head.
Nostalgia -- Homesickness.
Palsy -- Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles.
Paroxysm -- Convulsion
Pemphigus -- Skin disease of watery blisters
Pericarditis -- Inflammation of heart
Peripneumonia -- Inflammation of lungs
Peritonotis -- Inflammation of abdominal area
Petechial Fever -- Fever characterized by skin spotting
Puerperal exhaustion -- Death due to child birth
Phthiriasis -- Lice infestation
Phthisis -- Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis.
Plague -- An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality
rate.
Pleurisy -- Any pain in the chest area with each breath
Podagra -- Gout
Poliomyelitis -- Polio
Potter's asthma -- Fibroid pthisis
Pott's disease -- Tuberculosis of spine
Puerperal exhaustion -- Death due to childbirth
Puerperal fever -- Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant
Puking fever -- Milk sickness
Putrid fever -- Diphtheria.
Quinsy -- Tonsillitis.
Remitting fever -- Malaria
Rheumatism -- Any disorder associated with pain in joints
Rickets -- Disease of skeletal system
Rose cold -- Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy.
Rotanny fever -- (Child's disease) ???
Rubeola -- German measles
Sanguineous crust -- Scab
Scarlatina -- Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever -- A disease characterized by red rash
Scarlet rash -- Roseola
Sciatica -- Rheumatism in the hips
Scirrhus -- Cancerous tumors
Scotomy -- Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight
Scrivener's palsy -- Writer's cramp
Screws -- Rheumatism
Scrofula -- Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands. Progresses slowly with abscesses and fistulas develop. Young person's disease
Scrumpox -- Skin disease, impetigo
Scurvy -- Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin
Septicemia -- Blood poisoning
Shakes -- Delirium tremens
Shaking -- Chills, ague
Shingles -- Viral disease with skin blisters
Ship fever -- Typhus
Siriasis -- Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure
Sloes -- Milk sickness
Small pox -- Contagious disease with fever and blisters
Sore throat distemper -- Diphtheria or quinsy
Spanish influenza -- Epidemic influenza
Spasms -- Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle or group of muscles, like a convulsion
Spina bifida -- Deformity of spine
Spotted fever -- Either typhus or meningitis
Sprue -- Tropical disease characterized by intestinal disorders and sore throat
St. Anthony's fire -- Also erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in appearance.
St. Vitas dance -- Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements
performed -- -- involuntary
Stomatitis -- Inflammation of the mouth
Stranger's fever -- Yellow fever
Strangery -- Rupture
Sudor anglicus -- Sweating sickness
Summer complaint -- Diarrhea, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk.
Sunstroke -- Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause.
Swamp sickness -- Could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis
Sweating sickness -- Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century
Tetanus -- Infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache and
dizziness
Thrombosis -- Blood clot inside blood vessel
Thrush -- Childhood disease characterized by spots on mouth, lips and throat
Tick fever -- Rocky mountain spotted fever
Toxemia of pregnancy -- Eclampsia
Trench mouth -- Painful ulcers found along gum line, Caused by poor -- nutrition and poor hygiene
Tussis convulsiva -- Whooping cough
Typhus -- Infectious fever characterized high fever, headache, and dizziness
Variola -- Smallpox
Venesection -- Bleeding
Viper's dance -- St. Vitus Dance
Water on brain -- Enlarged head
White swelling -- Tuberculosis of the bone
Winter fever -- Pneumonia
Womb fever -- Infection of the uterus.
Worm fit -- Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea.
Yellowjacket -- Yellow fever.
