"S.Hallett" <S.Hallett@xtra.co.nz> wrote : > Hi I was wondering if any one out there was good at understanding death > certs or has medical knowledge .... I have two > The first one says under cause of death Pulmonary Phehiois??? (then > underneath) Asthenia.... is this some sort of heart attack???? he was only > 34 it was in 1890 The first is almost certainly Phthisis, in other words Tuberculosis, which was extremely common and invariably fatal; pulmonary phthisis is TB of the lungs. Asthenia is unusual weakness or debility, in other words, an unexplained death. A reasonable dictionary may give more detail, or try a Google search. > the other says Uterine Carcinoma 1 year (then underneath) extraction .... > It was in 1899 I am guessing the operation killed her. Clearly cancer of the uterus, from which the victim had suffered for at least 1 year. The reference to extraction is a bit odd, as I haven't seen that term used to describe the removal of a tumour; if the sufferer died in hospital soon after the operation, then your assumption is probably correct, otherwise a bit of a lottery as to what the final cause was - disease, operation, bllod loss, trauma, etc. John B Leic., Eng