Old Names for Diseases

Term	Description
Ablepsy	Blindness
Abscess	A localized collection of pus buried in tissues, organs, or confined spaces of the body, often accompanied by swelling and inflammation and frequently caused by bacteria. See boil.
Addison's disease	A disease characterized by severe weakness, low blood pressure, and a bronzed coloration of the skin, due to decreased secretion of cortisol from the adrenal gland. Synonyms: Morbus addisonii, bronzed skin disease.
Ague	Malarial or intermittent fever characterized 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," and by names expressive of the locality in which it was prevalent, such as, "swamp fever" (in Louisiana), "Panama fever," and "Chagres fever."
Ague-cake	A form of enlargement of the spleen, resulting from the action of malaria on the system.
American Plague	Yellow fever.
Anasarca	Generalized massive dropsy/edema. See Dropsy.
Anchylosis	Stiff joint.
Anidrosis	Too little perspiration.
Anthrax	Carbuncle or large painful boil.
Aphonia	Laryngitis.
Aphtha	The infant disease "thrush"
Apoplexy	Paralysis due to stroke.
Aphthae	See thrush.
Aphthous stomatitis	See canker.
Arachnitis	Inflammation of membranes in the brain.
Ascites	Water in the stomach. See dropsy.
Asphycsia/Asphicsia	Cyanotic and lack of oxygen.
Asthenia	See debility.
Atrophy	Wasting away or diminishing in size.
Bad Blood	Syphilis.
Barbers Itch	Ringworm of the beard.
Bilious Colic or Fever	A term loosely applied to certain intestinal and malarial fevers. Typhoid. Hepatitis. Elevated temperature and bile emesis. See typhus.
Biliousness	A complex of symptoms comprising nausea, abdominal discomfort, headache, and constipation, formerly attributed to excessive secretion of bile from the liver.
Black Plague or Death	Bubonic Plague.
Black Fever	Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate.
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.
Blood Poisoning	Bacterial infection, Septicemia.
Bloody Flux	Inflammation of the large bowels aka colitis. Bloody stools.
Bloody Sweat	Sweating sickness.
Boil	An abscess of skin or painful inflammation of the skin or a hair follicle usually caused by a staphylococcal infection. Synonym: furuncle.
Bone Shave	Sciatica.
Brain fever	Intense headache, fever, vertigo. See meningitis, typhus.
Breakbone	Dengue fever.
Bright's Disease	Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys. Glomerulonephritis (kidney inflammation).
Bronchial asthma	A disorder of breathing, characterized by spasm of the bronchial tubes of the lungs, wheezing, and difficulty in breathing air outward, often accompanied by coughing and a feeling of tightness in the chest.
Bronze John	Yellow fever.
Bule	Boil, tumor or swelling.
Cachexy	Malnutrition.
Cacospysy	Irregular pulse.
Cacogastric	Upset stomach.
Caduceus	Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy.
Camp fever, Camp diarrhea	Typhus.
Cancer	A malignant and invasive growth or tumor. In the nineteenth century, cancerous tumors tended to ulcerate, grew constantly, and progressed to a fatal end and that there was scarcely a tissue they would not invade. Synonyms: malignant growth, carcinoma.
Canine Madness	Rabies, hydrophobia.
Cancrum otis	A severe, destructive, eroding ulcer of the cheek and lip. In the last century it was seen in delicate, ill-fed, ill-tended children between the ages of two and five. The disease was the result of poor hygiene. It was often fatal. The disease could, in a few days, lead to gangrene of the lips, cheeks, tonsils, palate, tongue, and even half the face; teeth would fall from their sockets. Synonyms: canker, water canker, noma, gangrenous stomatitis, gangrenous ulceration of the mouth.
Canker	An ulcerous sore of the mouth and lips, not considered fatal today. Herpes simplex. Synonym: Aphthous stomatitis. See Cancrum otis.
Catalepsy	seizures/trances
Catarrh	Inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the air passages of the head and throat, with a free discharge. 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.
Cerebritis	Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning.
Chilblains	Painful sore or swelling of the foot or hand caused by exposure to the cold.
Child Bed Fever	Infection following birth of a child.
Chin cough	Whooping cough.
Chlorosis	iron deficiency anemia.
Cholera	An acute, infectious disease characterized by profuse diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps. Cholera is spread by feces-contaminated water and food. Major epidemics struck the United States in the years 1832, 1849, and 1866.
Cholera infantum	A common, noncontagious diarrhea of young children, occurring in summer or autumn. It was common among the poor and in hand-fed babies. Death frequently occurred in three to five days. Synonyms: summer complaint, weaning brash, water gripes, choleric fever of children, cholera morbus.
Cholecystitus	Inflammation of the gall bladder.
Cholelithiasis	Gall stones.
Chorea	Any of several diseases of the nervous system, characterized by jerky movements that appear to be well coordinated but are performed involuntarily, chiefly of the face and extremities. Synonym: Saint Vitus' dance.
Clap	Gonorrhea.
Cold plague	Ague which is characterized by chills.
Colic	Paroxysmal pain in the abdomen or bowels. Infantile colic is benign paroxysmal abdominal pain during the first three months of life. Colic rarely caused death. Renal colic can occur from disease in the kidney, gallstone colic from a stone in the bile duct.
Congestion	An excessive or abnormal accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part or blood vessel. In congestive fever the internal organs become gorged with blood.
Congestive Fever/Chills	Malaria.
Consumption	A wasting away of the body; formerly applied especially to pulmonary tuberculosis. Synonyms: marasmus (in the mid-nineteenth century), phthisis.
Convulsions	Severe contortion of the body caused by violent, involuntary muscular contractions of the extremities, trunk, and head. See epilepsy.
Corruption	Infection.
Coryza	A cold. See catarrh.
Costiveness	Constipation.
Cramp colic	Appendicitis.
Croup	Any obstructive condition of the larynx (voice box) or trachea (windpipe), characterized by a hoarse, barking cough and difficult breathing occurring chiefly in infants and children. In the early nineteenth century it was called cynanche trachealis. The crouping noise was similar to the sound emitted by a chicken affected with the pip, which in some parts of Scotland was called roup; hence, probably, the term croup. Synonyms: croup, hives, choak, stuffing, rising of the lights.
Crusted Tetter	Impetigo.
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	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.
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.
Diphtheria	An acute infectious disease acquired by contact with an infected person or a carrier of the disease. It was usually confined to the upper respiratory tract (throat) and characterized by the formation of a tough membrane (false membrane) attached firmly to the underlying tissue that would bleed if forcibly removed. In the nineteenth century the disease was occasionally confused with scarlet fever and croup.
Distemper	Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia.
Dock fever	Yellow fever.
Dropsy	A contraction for hydropsy. The presence of abnormally large amounts of fluid. Congestive heart failure.
Dropsy of the Brain	Encephalitis.
Dry bellyache	Lead poisoning.
Dyscrasy	An abnormal body condition.
Dysentery	A term given to a number of disorders marked by inflammation of the intestines (especially of the colon). There are two specific varieties: (1) amebic dysentery (2) bacillary dysentery. Synonyms: flux, bloody flux, contagious pyrexia (fever), frequent griping stools.
Dysorexy	Reduced appetite.
Dyspepsia	Indigestion and heartburn. Heart attack symptoms.
Dysury	Difficulty in urination.
Eclampsia	A form of toxemia (toxins, or poisons, in the blood) accompanying pregnancy. See dropsy.
Eclampsy	Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor.
Edema	Nephrosis; swelling of tissues.
Edema of lungs	Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy.
Eel thing	Erysipelas.
Effluvia	Exhalations. In the mid-nineteenth century, they were called "vapours" and distinguished into the contagious effluvia, such as rubeolar (measles); marsh effluvia, such as miasmata.
Elephantiasis	a form of leprosy.
Emphysema, pulmonary	A chronic, irreversible disease of the lungs.
Encephalitis	Swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness.
Enteric fever	Typhoid fever.
Enterocolitis	Inflammation of the intestines.
Enteritis	Inflammation of the bowels.
Epilepsy	A disorder of the nervous system, characterized either by mild, episodic loss of attention or sleepiness (petittnal) or by severe convulsions with loss of consciousness (grand mal). Synonyms: falling sickness, fits.
Epitaxis	Nose bleed.
Erysipelas	Contagious skin disease due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions. Synonyms: Rose, Saint Anthony's Fire (from its burning heat or, perhaps, because Saint Anthony was supposed to cure it miraculously).
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/dysentery.
Flux of humour	Circulation.
French pox	Syphilis.
Furuncle	A boil.
Gangrene	Death and decay of tissue in a part of the body--usually a lime, due to injury, disease, or failure of blood supply. Synonym: mortification.
Gathering	A collection of pus.
Glandular Fever	Mononucleosis.
Gleet	See catarrh.
Gravel	A disease characterized by small stones which are formed in the kidneys, passed along the ureters to the bladder, and expelled with the urine. Synonym: kidney stone.
Great pox	Syphilis.
Green fever/sickness	Anemia.
Grippe	An old term for influenza
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.
Hectic fever/Hectical complaint	A daily recurring fever with profound sweating, chills, and flushed appearance,- often associated with pulmonary tuberculosis or septic poisoning.
Hematemesis	Vomiting blood.
Hematuria	Bloody urine.
Hemiplegy	Paralysis of one side of body.
Hip Gout	Osteomylitis.
Hives	A skin eruption of smooth, slightly elevated areas on the skin which is redder or paler than the surrounding skin. Often attended by severe itching. Also called cynanche trachealis. In the mid-nineteenth century, hives was a commonly given cause of death of children three years and under. Because true hives does not kill, croup was probably the actual cause of death in those children.
Horrors	Delirium tremens.
Hospital fever	See typhus.
Hydrocephalus	Enlarged head, water on the brain. See dropsy.
Hydroperticardium	Heart dropsy.
Hydrothorax	See dropsy.
Hydrophobia	Rabies.
Hydrothroax	Dropsy in chest.
Hypertrophic	Enlargement of organ, like the heart.
Icterus	See jaundice.
Impetigo	Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules.
Inanition	Exhaustion from lack of nourishment; starvation.
Infantile paralysis	Polio.
Infection	In the early part of the last century, infections were thought to be the propagation of disease by effluvia (see above) from patients crowded together. "Miasms" were believed to be substances which could not be seen in any form, emanations not apparent to the senses. Such Miasms were understood to act by infection.
Inflammation	Redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, heat, and disturbed function of an area of the body. In the last century, cause of death often was listed as inflammation of a body organ, such as, brain or lung, but this was purely a descriptive term and is not helpful in identifying the actual underlying disease.
Intestinal colic	Abdominal pain due to improper diet.
Jail fever	Typhus.
Jaundice	Yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, and mucous membranes, due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood. Synonym: Icterus.
Kidney stone	See gravel.
Kings evil	A popular name for scrofula. 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.
Kruchhusten	Whooping cough.
Lagrippe	Influenza.
Living in	Time of delivery of infant.
Lockjaw	Tetanus, a disease in which the jaws become firmly locked together. Synonyms: trismus, tetanus.
Lues disease	Syphilis.
Lues venera	Venereal disease.
Lumbago	Back pain.
Lung Fever	Pneumonia
Lung Sickness	Tuberculosis.
Malignant fever	See typhus.
Malignant sore throat	Diphtheria.
Mania	Insanity.
Marasmus	Malnutrition occurring in infants and young children, caused by an insufficient intake of calories or protein.
Membranous Croup	Diphtheria.
Meningitis	Inflammation of the meninges (brain and spinal cord) characterized by high fever, severe headache, and stiff neck or back muscles. Synonym: brain fever.
Metritis	Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge.
Miasma	Poisonous vapors thought to infect air.
Milk fever	Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis.
Milk leg	Post partum thrombophlebitis.
Milk sickness	poisoning resulting from the drinking of milk produced by a cow who had eaten a plant known as white snake root or other poisonous weeds.
Mormal	gangrene.
Morphew	Scurvy blisters on the body.
Mortification	Gangrene of necrotic tissue.
Myelitis	Inflammation of the spine.
Myocarditis	Inflammation of the 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	Sharp and paroxysmal pain along the course of a sensory nerve. Discomfort such as headache was Neuralgia in head.
Nostalgia	Homesickness.
Palsy	Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles. It was listed as "cause of death".
Paristhmitis	See quinsy.
Paroxysm	Convulsions.
Pellagra	Disease caused by eating spoiled maize.
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. See typhus.
Phthiriasis	Lice infestation.
Phthisis	Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis. See consumption.
Plague/Black Death	Bubonic Plague.
Pleurisy	Inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the chest cavity. Symptoms are chills, fever, dry cough, and pain in the affected side (a stitch).
Pneumonia	Inflammation of the lungs
Podagra	Gout.
Poliomyelitis	Polio.
Potter's asthma	Fibroid pthisis.
Potts Disease	Tuberculosis of the spinal vertebrae.
Pox	Syphilis.
Puerperal exhaustion	Death due to child birth.
Puerperal fever	Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant.
Puking fever	Milk sickness.
Putrid fever	Typhus Fever, Ship Fever, Diphtheria, transmitted by the bite of fleas and lice.
Putrid sore throat	Ulceration of an acute form, attacking the tonsils.
Pyemia	Blood poisoning from pus in the blood.
Pyrexia	See dysentery.
Quinsy	An acute inflammation of the tonsils, often leading to an abscess. Synonyms: suppurative tonsillitis, cynanche tonsillaris, paristhmitis, sore throat.
Remitting fever	Malaria.
Rheumatism	Any disorder associated with paint in joints.
Rickets	Disease of skeletal system.
Rose cold	Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy.
Rose-Rash	Roseola or "false measles".
Rotanny fever	Child's disease??
Rubeola	German measles.
Sanguineous crust	Scab.
Scarlatina/ Scarlet fever	A contagious disease noted 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	Primary tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands, especially those in the neck. A disease of children and young adults. Synonym: king's evil.
Scrumpox	Skin disease, impetigo.
Scurvy	Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin.
Septic	Infected, a condition of local or generalized invasion of the body by disease-causing germs.
Septicemia	Blood poisoning.
Shakes	Delirium tremens.
Shaking	Chills, ague.
Shingles	Viral disease with skin blisters.
Ship fever	Typhus.
Siriasis	Brain inflammation due to sun exposure.
Sloes	Milk sickness.
Small pox	Contagious disease with fever and blisters.
Softening Of The Brain	cerebral hemorrhage/stroke.
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	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. See cholera infantum.
Sunstroke	Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause.
Suppuration	The production of pus.
Swamp fever	Could be malaria, typhoid or Encephalitis.
Sweating Sickness	Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century.
Teething	The entire process which results in the eruption of the teeth. Nineteenth century medical reports stated that infants were more prone to disease at the time of teething. Symptoms were restlessness, fretfulness, convulsions, diarrhea, and painful and swollen gums. The latter could be relieved by lancing over the protruding tooth. Often teething was reported as a cause of death in infants. Perhaps they became susceptible to infections, especially if lancing was performed without antisepsis. Another explanation of teething as a cause of death is that infants were often weaned at the time of teething; perhaps they then died from drinking contaminated milk, leading to an infection, or from malnutrition if watered-down milk was given.
Tetanus	An infectious, often fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium that enters the body through wounds. Synonyms: trismus, lockjaw.
Thrombosis	Blood clot inside blood vessel.
Thrush	A disease characterized by whitish spots and ulcers on the membranes of the mouth, tongue, and fauces caused by a parasitic fungus. Synonyms: Aphthae, sore mouth Aphthous stomatitis.
Tick fever	Rocky mountain spotted fever.
Toxemis of pregnancy	Eclampsia.
Trench mouth	Painful ulcers found along gum line. Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene.
Trismus nascentium or neonatorum	A form of tetanus seen only in infants, almost invariably in the first five days of life.
Tussis convulsive	Whooping cough.
Typhoid fever	An infectious, often fatal disease, usually occurring in the summer months, characterized by intestinal inflammation and ulceration. The name came from the disease's similarity to typhus (see below). Synonym: Enteric fever.
Typhus	An acute, infectious disease transmitted by lice and fleas. The epidemic or classic form is louse borne; the endemic or murine is flea borne. 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.
Variola	smallpox.
Venesection	Bleeding.
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.
Yellow fever/Yellowjacket	An acute, often fatal, infectious disease of warm climates, caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes.