Old Medical Terms Waukesha County Wisconsin Genealogy (GenWeb)/h2>

Waukesha County Wisconsin Genealogy

Ablepsy -  Blindness
Ague - Malarial Fever
American Plague - Yellow Fever
Anasarca - Massive Edema
Aphonia - Laryngitis
Aphtha - thrush (infant disease)
Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
Asphycsia - Cyanotic lack of oxygen
Atrophy - wasting away

Bad Blood - Syphilis
Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated 
	temp and bile emesis
Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver disease
Black plague or death - Bubonic plague 
Black fever - Acute infection with high temp 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 temp
Bladder in throat - Diptheria (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 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 temp, etc.  Could be appendicitis
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, diptheria 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 alcholism
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 od 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 dropsey 
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 - Inflamation of the bowels
Epitaxis - Nose bleed
Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci 
	with vesicular and bulbous lesions 
Extravasted blood - Rupture of the blood vessel

Falling sickness - Epilepsy 
Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of the liver 
Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity 
Flux - An excessive flow of 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 temp elevates because of surrounding 
	environment temp and body does not perspire to reduce
	temp.  Coma and death result if not reversed
Hectical Complaint - Recurrent fever 
Hematemesis - Vomiting blood 
Hematuria - Bloody Urine 
Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of the body 
Hip gout - Osteomylitis 
Horrors - Delirium tremens 
Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head , water on the brain 
Hydropercardium - Heart dropsy 
Hydrophobia - Rabies 
Hydrothroax - Dropy 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.
Lung sickness - Tuberculosis
Lues disease - Syphilis 
Lues venera - Venereal disease 
Lumbago - Back pain 
Lung fever - Pnemonia 
Lung sickness - Tuberculosis 
Lying in - Time of delivery of infant 

Malignant sore throat - Diptheria 
Mania - Insanity 
Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition 
Membranous Croup - Diptheria 
Meningitis - Inflamations 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 Prostation - 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
Peripnemonia - Inflammation of lungs 
Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area
Petechial Fever - Fever characterized by skin spotting 
Peurperal 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 child birth 
Puerperal fever - Elevated tempature after giving birth to an infant
Puking fever - Milk sickness
Putrid fever - Diptheria

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 pustulas develop.  Young 
	person's disease.  Possibly chicken pox
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 - Chils, 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 - Diptheria 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 involuntarily
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 temp due to 
	enviornmental 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 the 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 hygeine
Tussis convulsia - Whooping cough 
Typhus - Infectious fever characterized by high fever, 
	headache and dizziness

Variola - Smallpox 
Venesection - Bleeding 
Viper's Dance - St. Vitus Dance 

Water on the brain - Enlarged head 
White swelling - Tuberculosis of the bone 
Winter fever - Pnemonia 
Womb fever - Infection of the uterus 
Worm fit - Convulsions associated with teething, worms, 
	elevated temp or diarrhea

Yellowjacket - Yellow fever