Note: When you read old newspapers and Civil War Service Records, you often run across now archaic terms which were, back in their day, used quite commonly. I began a list which I refer to fairly often since I read a lot of service records, old newspapers, and pension applications which frequently use these terms. If any one has any I left out, feel free to add to the list: Anasarca: generalized massive edema. Anchylosis: A stiffening of the joints. Ankylosis: Immobility and consolidation of a joint due to disease, injury, or surgical procedure. Apoplexy: stroke: a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain. Ascites: Fluid in the abdomen. Catarrh: Inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the respiratory tract. Colitis: Inflammation of the lining of the large intestine. Debilitas: Weakness or feebleness. Dispepsia: Indigestion. Dropsy: Edema: swelling from excessive accumulation of serous fluid in tissue. Erysipelas: a bacterial skin infection that usually affects the arms, legs, or face, characterized by shiny, red areas, small blisters, and swollen lymph nodes. Fistula: an abnormal passage, opening or connection between 2 internal organs or from an internal organ to the surface of the body. Icterus: Commonly referred to as jaundice. A yellowing of the tissues, usually as a result of abnormal liver function. Inguinal Hernia: A condition in which soft tissue - usually part of the intestine - protrudes through a weak point in the groin, where the abdomen meets the thigh. Intermittent (and Remittent) Fever (febris intermittens and febris remittens): Illness marked by episodes of fever with return to completely normal temperature; usually malaria. La Grippe: An unusually severe and deadly strain of influenza, a viral infectious disease. Neuralgia: A sharp, shooting pain along a nerve pathway. Orchitis: Inflammation of the testicles. Pellagra: Literally rough skin; clinical syndrome due to deficiency of niacin (nicotinic acid) characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia. Pyaemia: multiple abscess occurs as a result of pus-producing bacteria circulating in the blood stream. These can result in small abscesses throughout the body. Rheumatism: any painful disorder of the joints or muscles or connective tissues. Rubeola: measles; an acute and highly contagious viral disease marked by distinct red spots followed by a rash. Scrofula: Tuberculosis of the lymph glands. Tertian Ague: Fever one day in every three. Typhoid: Serious infection marked by intestinal inflammation and ulceration; caused by Salmonella typhosa ingested with food or water. Variola: Smallpox. Vulnus Sclopeticum: Relating to a wound caused by a gunshot. White Swelling: Tuberculosis of the bone.