Joanne: Thank you so much! I should have thought of compiling terms as I was trying to decipher death causes on old certificates. I will share this with our genealogy club. Suzanne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joanne Steckling" <joanne@jsteckling.com> Subject: [ROOTS-L] Archaic diseases > I came across an article in the Wall St Journal with a list of archaic > diseases found mentioned in classic literature. I thought it might help > those of you who find these terms on ancestor's death certificates or in > family histories: > Ague= malarial fever > Brain fever = meningitis > Catarrh= inflammation that leads to mucous discharge from nose or throat > Consumption=tuberculosis > Grippe = influenza > Humid tetter = eczema > Jail fever or ship fever = typhus > Low Spirits = depression > Lues venereal = syphillis > Morphew = scurvy blisters, caused by insufficient levels of vitamin C > Podagra= gout > Stopping = constipation > Variola = smallpox. > > Joanne Steckling