19th Century Diseases
OK, this isn't really something that could be considered a favorite,
but how many times have you read CW-era documents and were perplexed by the
medical terminology mentioned. Here is a compiliation of diseases and
ailments from the Civil War Era.
- Cholera: an acute, infections, often fatal disease causing
diarrhea, vomitting, cramps and dehydration.
- Consumption: TB.
- Dropsy: an excessing accumulation of fluids in a cavity or in
the subcutaneous cavity.
- Dysentary: an infectious disease marked by inflammation and
ulceration of the lower part of the bowels and diarrhea.
- Dyspepsia: deranged or impaired digestion - indigestion.
- Erycipelas: acute, infectious disease evidenced by a deep red
inflammation of the skin.
- Flux: abnormal discharge from the bowels - dysentary. Sometimes
a lead-in to cholera or diagnosed as cholera.
- Gravel: kidney stones.
- Mortification: gangrene or death of tissue.
- Quinsy: tonsillitis.
- Scrofula: a form of TB causing swelling and degeneration of the
lympathic glands especially in the neck and joints.
- St Vitus dance: cholery - primarily in children, a bacterial
or organic degeneration, irregular of jerky, involuntary muscular movements.
- appoplectic: Modern day equivalent is a stroke
- billious colic: bilious pertains to an ailment of the bile or
liver resulting in headache, indigestion, nausea, etc. supposed to be caused
by an abnormal liver-- likely gall bladder disease or stones
- brain fever: encephalitis
- brain infirmation or inflamation: likely meningitis
- cholera infantum: intestinal disease occuring in warm weather,
charachterised by pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and prostration. an acute
intestinal poisoning of bacterial origin starting with severe vomiting and
diarrhea, followed by fever, shock, and collapse
- congestion of the brain: hydrocephalus
- congestion of the lungs: pulmonary edema
- Coup de Soliel: Translates as "Stroke or blow of the sun"=sunstroke
- cynanche tracheitis: cynache is any inflammatory disease of the
throat. Cynanche cellularis woiuld mean a sore throat accompanied with excessive
cellular growth (hyperplasia). Cynancehe is an old term for any acute disease
of the throat in which the patient struggles for breath
- eruption of vessel: varicose veins
- female disease: could be problems, as in endometriosis
- gangrenous diptheria: gangrene refers to a death of a part due
to a lack of blood supply in that area. Diptheria is characterized by the
formation of a false membrane adhering to the larynx, pharynx, and trachea,
although occaisionally of the vagina and conjuctiva
- general debility: debility means feeble and refers to the state
of abnormal bodily weakness
- inflamation of the bowels: gastritis or gastroenteritis
- intermittent fever: recurring fever, malaria
- neuralgia of the brain: neuralgia is nerve pain, possibly migraine
- phthisis pulmonales: a wasting away of the body. an old term
for pulmonary tuberculosis, with subsequent emaciation and loss of strength
caused by tuberculosis
- pulmonary consumption: tuberculosis of the lungs
- puerperal fever: septic poisoning, sometimes occuring after
childbirth, childbed fever, childbirth complications
- putrid sore throat: sore throat with a foul smell
- remittent fever: a fever that has periods of abatement, but never
really goes away, something like malaria
- scrofula dysipales: scrofula is tuberculosis of the lymph glands
- summer complaint: caused by spoiled food (often milk products),
generally affected children, causing severe dehydration and frequently
death---food poisoning
- suicide by loderium: Laudenum--a preparation of opium, usually
in solution of alcohol it was a liquid opiate used as a cough syrup, pain
killer, tonic, and general elixir for what ever ailed you.
- ulcerated bowels: could be ulcerative colitis or infectious colitis
characterized by bloody diarrhea
- AGUE: used to define the recurring fever & chills of malarial
infection
- APHONIA: laryngitis
- BILIOUSNES: jaundice or other symptoms associated with liver
disease
- CAMP FEVER: typhus
- CANINE MADDNESS: hydrophobia
- CHLOROSIS: iron deficency anemia
- CORRUPTION: infection
- CORYZA: a cold
- COSTIVENNESS: constipation
- CRAMP COLIC: appenditis
- DROPSEY: edwma (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease
- DYSEPSIA: acid indigestion
- EXTRAVASTED BLOOD: rupture of a blood vessel
- FALLING SICKNESS: epilepsy
- FLUS OF HUMOR: circulation
- FRENCH POX: veneral disease
- GREEN SICKNESS: anemia
- HIP GOUT: osteomylitis
- JAIL FEVER: typhus
- KINGS EVIL: tubercular infection of the throat lymph glands
- LA GRIPPE: flu
- LUES VENERA: veneral disease
- LUMBAGO: back pain
- LUNG FEVER: pneumonia
- LUNG SICKNESS: tuberculosis
- MANIA: insanity
- MORTIFICATION: infection
- NOSTALIA: homesickness
- PUTRID FEVER: diptheria
- QUINSY: toncillitis
- REMITTING FEVER: malaria
- SANGUINOUS CRUST: scab
- SCREWS: rheumatism
- SCROFULA: see KINGS EVIL
- SHIPS FEVER: typhus
- STRANGERY: rupture
- SUMMER COMPLAIN: baby diarrhea caused by spoiled milk
- VENESECTION: bleeding
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