Descriptions of Diseases
including Archaic Disease Names
A
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.
B
Bad Blood - Syphilis
Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria,
hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis
Biliousness - Jaundice associated
with liver disease
Black plague or 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
C
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/Cholera Infantum -
Acute severe
contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing - infantum refers
to the
condition in a child
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
Confinement - Died of, or shortly
after childbirth
Congestive chills - Malaria
Congestion - Any collection of fluid
in an organ,
like the lungs
Congestive chills - Malaria with
diarrhea
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
Cynanche - Diseases of throat
Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder
D
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
E
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 - Inflations 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
F
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
G
Gathering - A collection of pus
General paralysis of the insane - syndrome of madness and weakness occurring in tertiary syphilis.
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
H
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
I
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
J
Jail fever - Typhus
Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of
intestines
K
King's evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands,
later also called Scrofula - people once believed it could be cured by a
King's touch
Kruchhusten - Whooping cough
L
Lagrippe - Influenza
Laryngismus Stridulus - Spasmodic croup
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
M
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 the heart muscle
N
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
P
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 of heart
muscles
Phthesic - was applied to astma
Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for
tuberculosis
Piles - Hemorrhoids
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 childbirth
Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after giving
birth to an infant
Puking fever - Milk sickness
Putrid fever - Diphtheria
Q
Quinsy - Tonsillitis
R
Remitting or Remittent 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
S
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 - 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
T
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
V
Variola - Smallpox
Venesection - Bleeding
Viper's dance - St.Vitus Dance
W
Water on brain - Enlarged head
White swelling or White fever -
Tuberculosis of the bone
Winter fever - Pneumonia
Womb fever - Infection of the uterus.
Worm fit - Convulsions associated
with teething,
worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea
Y
Yellowjacket - Yellow fever
