In case any of you come across diseases or medical terms in source documents, I thought you might be interested in this. Regards, SgtGeorge George W. Durman ================================== OLD MEDICAL TERMS AND DISEASES: (From Shirley Hornbeck's website at Rootsweb.) PART 3 OF 3: 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: Sharp and paroxysmal pain along the course of a sensory nerve. 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". Paristhmitis: See "Quinsy". Paroxysm: Convulsions. Pellagra: Disease caused by eating spoiled corn. 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. See "Typhus". Phthiriasis: Lice infestation. Phthisis: Chronic wasting away, or a name for Tuberculosis. See "Consumption". Plague or Black Death: Bubonic Plague. Pleurisy: Inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the chest cavity. Symptoms are "Chills", "Fever", "Dry Cough", and "pain in the affected side" (a "Stitch"). Pneumonia: Inflammation of the lungs Podagra: Gout. Poliomyelitis: Polio. Potter's Asthma: Fibroid Pthisis. Potts Disease: Tuberculosis of the spinal vertebrae. Pox: Syphilis. Puerperal Exhaustion: Death due to child birth. Puerperal Fever: Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant. Puking Fever: Milk Sickness. Putrid fever: Typhus Fever, Ship Fever, Diphtheria, transmitted by the bite of fleas and lice. Putrid Sore Throat: Ulceration of an acute form, attacking the tonsils. Pyemia: Blood poisoning from pus in the blood. Pyrexia: See "Dysentery". Quinsy: An acute inflammation of the tonsils, often leading to an abscess. Synonyms: "Suppurative Tonsillitis", "Cynanche Tonsillaris", "Paristhmitis", "Sore Throat". Remitting Fever: Malaria. Rheumatism: FAny disorder associated with paint in joints. Rickets: Disease of skeletal system. Rose Cold: Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy. Rose-Rash: Roseola or "false measles". Rotanny fever: Child's disease?? Rubeola: German measles. Sanguineous Crust: Scab. Scarlatina or Scarlet fever: A contagious disease noted 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: Primary tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands, especially those in the neck. A disease of children and young adults. Synonym: "King's Evil". Scrumpox: Skin disease, Impetigo. Scurvy: Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin. Septic: Infected, a condition of local or generalized invasion of the body by disease-causing germs. Septicemia: Blood poisoning. Shakes: Delirium tremens. Shaking: Chills, ague. Shingles: Viral disease with skin blisters. Ship fever: Typhus. Siriasis: Brain inflammation due to sun exposure. Sloes: Milk Sickness. Small Pox: Contagious disease with fever and blisters. Softening Of The Brain: Cerebral Hemorrhage or Stroke. 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: 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. See "Cholera Infantum". Sunstroke: Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause. Suppuration: The production of pus. Swamp Fever: Could be Malaria, Typhoid, or Encephalitis. Sweating Sickness: Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century. Teething: The entire process which results in the eruption of the teeth. Nineteenth Century medical reports stated that infants were more prone to disease at the time of teething. Symptoms were restlessness, fretfulness, convulsions, diarrhea, and painful and swollen gums. The latter could be relieved by lancing over the protruding tooth. Often teething was reported as a cause of death in infants. Perhaps they became susceptible to infections, especially if lancing was performed without antisepsis. Another explanation of teething as a cause of death is that infants were often weaned at the time of teething; perhaps they then died from drinking contaminated milk, leading to an infection, or from malnutrition if watered-down milk was given. Tetanus: An infectious, often fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium that enters the body through wounds. Synonyms: "Trismus", "Lockjaw". Thrombosis: Blood clot inside blood vessel. Thrush: A disease characterized by whitish spots and ulcers on the membranes of the mouth, tongue, and fauces caused by a parasitic fungus. Synonyms: "Aphthae", "Sore Mouth, "Aphthous Stomatitis". Tick Fever: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Toxemis of Pregnancy: Eclampsia. Trench Mouth: Painful ulcers found along gum line. Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene. Trismus Nascentium or Neonatorum: A form of tetanus seen only in infants, almost invariably in the first five days of life. Tussis Convulsive: Whooping Cough. Typhoid Fever: An infectious, often fatal disease, usually occurring in the summer months, characterized by intestinal inflammation and ulceration. The name came from the disease's similarity to Typhus (see below). Synonym: "Enteric Fever". Typhus: An acute, infectious disease transmitted by lice and fleas. The epidemic or classic form is louse borne; the endemic, or murine form, is flea borne. Synonyms: "Typhus Fever", "Malignant Fever" (in the 1850s), "Jail Fever", "Hospital Fever", "Ship Fever", "Putrid Fever", "Brain Fever", "Bilious Fever", "Spotted Fever", "Petechial Fever", "Camp Fever". Variola: Smallpox. Venesection: Bleeding. Water on the 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. Yellow Fever or Yellowjacket: An acute, often fatal, infectious disease of warm climates, caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. (Some of the above was been compiled by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy in 1996.)