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Thank you to with Muskingum County, Ohio GenWeb for sharing this information
The following is a list of diseases commonly cited in historic obituaries and death certificates and their present day equivelants.
| Historic Disease | Modern description | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 fever | Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate | |
| Black plague or death | Bubonic plague | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Cholecystitus | Inflammation of the gall bladder | |
| Cholelithiasis | Gall stones | |
| Cholera | Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing | |
| Cholera morbus | Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc. Could be appendicitis | |
| Chorea | Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing | |
| Cold plague | Ague which is characterized by chills | |
| Colic | An abdominal pain and cramping | |
| Congestion | Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs | |
| Congestive chills | Malaria with diarrhea | |
| Congestive chills | Malaria | |
| Congestive fever | Malaria | |
| Consumption | Tuberculosis | |
| 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 | May 26, 2006Diseases 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 | |
| Enteritis | Inflations of the bowels | |
| Enterocolitis | Inflammation of the intestines | |
| Epitaxis | Nose bleed | |
| Erysipelas | Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicularand 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. 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 | 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 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. It was listed as"Cause of death" | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Screws | Rheumatism | |
| Scrivener's palsy | Writer's cramp | |
| 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 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 | |
| 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 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 |
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Last Modified: February 14, 2006