Glossary of Diseases
This
information from "Old Farmer's Almanac," reprinted in Dec. 1986
by "Roots Digest," Ronald A. Bremer,
Publisher
Abcpsia - blindness
Ablepsy - Blindness
Addison's Disease - Anemic condition
caused by kidney disease
Aegrotantem - Sickness
Ague - Malarial Fever
American plague - Yellow fever
Anasarca - Generalized massive edema
Aphonia - Laryngitis
Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"
Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
Ascites - Dropsy of the abdomen
Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and
lack of oxygen
Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing
in size.
Bad Blood - Syphilis
Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria,
hepatitis or levated 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 Lung - Disease from breathing
coal dust
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;
dysentery
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 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 - Ague which is
characterized by chills
Colic - An abdominal pain and
cramping
Congestive chills or fever - 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
Cretinism - congenital hypothyroidism
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, spread by infected milk
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
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 humor - Circulation
French pox - Syphilis
Galloping Consumption - Pulmonary
Tuberculosis
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 the inability to assimilate 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 - Poisoning from milk
of cattle which had eaten leaves of the white snakeroot plant
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
Neurasthenia - Neurotic condition
caused by worry; disturbances of digestion, circulation
attributed to emotional conflict
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
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 - Polio
Potter's asthma - Fibroid phthisis
Pott's disease - Tuberculosis of
spine
Pox - Syphilis
Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to
childbirth
Puerperal fever - Elevated
temperature after giving birth to an infant
Puking fever - Milk sickness
Putrid fever - Diphtheria.
Quinsy - Severe attack of tonsillitis
which resulted in abscess near the tonsils
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 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
involuntarily
Stomatitis - Inflammation of the
mouth
Stranger's fever - Yellow fever
Strangery - Rupture
Sudor anglicus - Sweating sickness
Summer complaint - Dysentery, 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
Whitlow - Boil
Winter fever - Pneumonia
Womb fever - Infection of the uterus.
Worm fit - Convulsions associated
with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea
Yellowjacket - Yellow fever.
AHGP Henry
County
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