In a message dated 4/13/02 2:27:07 PM Mountain Daylight Time, kiltonya@eircom.net writes: > >died of something that looks like Phthisis > > I have this on a death certificate too, although the deceased was elderly, > if I recall correctly. If any of you out there are medically minded I would > be very interested in knowing what it is. > TIA, > Tracey. From Webster's Dictionany - 1913 Phthi"sis (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. , fr. to pass or waste away: cf. F. phthisie.] (Med.) A wasting or consumption of the tissues. The term was formerly applied to many wasting diseases, but is now usually restricted to pulmonary phthisis, or consumption. Consumption (Page: <A HREF="http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.page.sh?PAGE=311">311</A>)Con*sump"tion (?; 215), n.. [L. consumptio: cf. F. consomption.] 1. The act or process of consuming by use, waste, etc.; decay; destruction. > Every new advance of the price to the consumer is a new incentive to him to > retrench the quality of his consumption. Burke. 2. The state or process of being consumed, wasted, or diminished; waste; diminution; loss; decay. 3. (Med.) A progressive wasting away of the body; esp., that form of wasting, attendant upon pulmonary phthisis and associated with cough, spitting of blood, hectic fever, etc.; pulmonary phthisis; -- called also pulmonary consumption.<-- tuberculosis --> Consumption of the bowels (Med.), inflammation and ulceration of the intestines from tubercular disease. Syn. -- Decline; waste; decay.