Cheboygan County MI Genealogy

Definitions of Some Diseases
or Causes of Death

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 Black 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, 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. Could be appendicitis

Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder

Cholelithiasis - Gall stones

Chorea - Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing

Cold Plague - Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing

Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping

Congestive Chills - Malaria

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 of mucous and blood

Dysorexy - Reduced appetite

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 - Inflation 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 - 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

Hydrothorax - 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. Untreated, it is fatal in 8 days

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 - Inflation 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 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 - PolioPotter'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

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 pistulas 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 tremors

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

Softening of Brain - Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain, with an end result of the tissue softening in that area

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 - 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

This Page Was Last Updated Saturday, 03-Mar-2012 12:40:16 MST