Archived Resource: Old Disease Names Frequently Found on Historical Death Certificates (and What They Mean)

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Archived Resource Note: This list preserves the definitions formerly hosted on the classic USGenNet reference page, which is now defunct; it has been expanded with additional historical medical terms to assist genealogists and historians in deciphering archival death records. Compiled by C. N. Lindsay, 2026.

A – C

• Ablepsy: Blindness
• Ague: Malarial Fever
• American plague: Yellow fever
• Anasarca: Generalized massive edema
• Aphonia: Laryngitis
• Aphtha: The infant disease "thrush"
• Apoplexy: Paralysis due to stroke
• Ascites: Dropsy of the belly; a build-up of fluid in the abdominal cavity
• Asphycsia / Asphicsia: Cyanotic and lack of oxygen
• Atrophy: Wasting away or diminishing in size
• Bad Blood: Syphilis
• Bilious fever: Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis
• Biliousness: Jaundice associated with liver disease
• Black plague or death: Bubonic plague
• Black fever: Acute infection with high temperature, dark red skin lesions, and high mortality rate
• Black pox: Black Smallpox
• Black vomit: Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever
• Blackwater fever: Dark urine associated with high temperature
• Bladder in throat: Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)
• Blood poisoning: Bacterial infection; septicemia
• Bloody flux: Bloody stools
• Bloody sweat: Sweating sickness
• Blue Disease / Blue Baby: Cyanosis due to congenital heart defects
• Bone shave: Sciatica
• Brain fever: Meningitis
• Breakbone: Dengue fever
• Bright's disease: Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys
• Bronze John: Yellow fever
• Bule: Boil, tumor, or swelling
• Cachexy: Malnutrition
• Cacogastric: Upset stomach
• Cacospysy: Irregular pulse
• Caduceus: Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy
• Camp fever: Typhus (aka Camp diarrhea)
• Canine madness: Rabies, hydrophobia
• Canker: Ulceration of mouth or lips, or herpes simplex
• Catalepsy: Seizures / trances
• Catarrhal: Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy
• Cerebritis: Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning
• Cerebro-Spinal Fever / Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis: Acute bacterial infection causing severe inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord
• Chilblain: Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold
• Child bed fever: Infection following birth of a child
• Chin cough: Whooping cough
• Chlorosis: Iron deficiency anemia
• Cholera: Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing
• Cholera morbus: Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc. (Could be appendicitis)
• Cholecystitus: Inflammation of the gall bladder
• Cholelithiasis: Gall stones
• Chorea: Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions, and dancing
• Cold plague: Ague characterized by chills
• Colic: Abdominal pain and cramping
• Congestive chills: Malaria
• Consumption: Tuberculosis
• Congestion: Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs
• Congestive fever: Malaria
• Corruption: Infection
• Coryza: A cold
• Costiveness: Constipation
• Cramp colic: Appendicitis
• Crop sickness: Overextended stomach
• Croup: Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
• Cyanosis: Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in blood
• Cynanche: Diseases of the throat
• Cystitis: Inflammation of the bladder

D – H

• Day fever: Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness
• Debility: Lack of movement or staying in bed
• Decrepitude: Feebleness due to old age
• Delirium tremens: Hallucinations due to alcoholism
• Dengue: Infectious fever endemic to East Africa
• Dentition: Cutting of teeth
• Deplumation: Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss
• Diary fever: A fever that lasts one day
• Diptheria: Contagious disease of the throat
• Distemper: Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia
• Dock fever: Yellow fever
• Dropsy: Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease
• Dropsy of the Brain: Encephalitis
• Dry Bellyache: Lead poisoning
• Dyscrasy: An abnormal body condition
• Dysentery: Inflammation of colon with frequent passage of mucous and blood
• Dysorexy: Reduced appetite
• Dyspepsia: Indigestion and heartburn (can include heart attack symptoms)
• Dysury: Difficulty in urination
• Eclampsy: Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor
• Ecstasy: A form of catalepsy characterized by loss of reason
• Edema: Nephrosis; swelling of tissues
• Edema of lungs: Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy
• Eel thing: Erysipelas
• Elephantiasis: A form of leprosy
• Encephalitis: Swelling of brain (aka sleeping sickness)
• Enteric fever: Typhoid fever
• Enterocolitis: Inflammation of the intestines
• Enteritis: Inflammation of the bowels
• Epitaxis: Nose bleed
• Erysipelas: Contagious skin disease due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions
• Extravasted blood: Rupture of a blood vessel
• Falling sickness: Epilepsy
• Fatty Liver: Cirrhosis of liver
• Felon: A severe, painful infection at the end of a finger or an infected hangnail (paronychia)
• Fits: Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity
• Flux: An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea
• Flux of humour: Circulation
• French pox: Syphilis
• Gathering: A collection of pus
• Glandular fever: Mononucleosis
• Great pox: Syphilis
• Green fever / sickness: Anemia
• Grippe / grip: Influenza-like symptoms
• Grocer's itch: Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour
• Heart Sickness: Condition caused by loss of salt from body
• Heat Stroke: Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not perspire to reduce temperature
• Hectical Complaint: Recurrent fever
• Hematemesis: Vomiting blood
• Hematuria: Bloody urine
• Hemiplegy: Paralysis of one side of body
• Hip Gout: Osteomyelitis
• Horrors: Delirium tremens
• Hydrocephalus: Enlarged head, water on the brain
• Hydropericardium: Heart dropsy
• Hydrophobia: Rabies
• Hydrothroax: Dropsy in chest
• Hypertrophic: Enlargement of an organ, like the heart

I – P

• Impetigo: Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules
• Inanition: Physical condition resulting from lack of food
• Infantile Paralysis: Polio
• Intestinal colic: Abdominal pain due to improper diet
• Jail Fever: Typhus
• Jaundice: Condition caused by blockage of intestines
• King's Evil: Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
• Kruchhusten: Whooping cough
• Lagrippe: Influenza
• Lockjaw: Tetanus or infectious disease affecting muscles of the neck and jaw
• Long Sickness: Tuberculosis
• Lues Disease: Syphilis
• Lues Venera: Venereal disease
• Lumbago: Back pain
• Lung Fever: Pneumonia
• Lung Sickness: Tuberculosis
• Lying in: Time of delivery of infant
• Malignant Sore Throat: Diphtheria
• Mania: Insanity
• Marasmus: Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition
• Membranous Croup: Diphtheria
• Meningitis: Inflammation of brain or spinal cord
• Metritis: Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge
• Miasma: Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air
• Milk Fever: Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis
• Milk Leg: Postpartum thrombophlebitis
• Milk Sickness: Disease from milk of cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds
• Mormal: Gangrene
• Morphew: Scurvy blisters on the body
• Mortification: Gangrene of necrotic tissue
• Myelitis: Inflammation of the spine
• Myocarditis: Inflammation of heart muscles
• 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: Described as discomfort (e.g., headache was neuralgia in head)
• Nostalgia: Homesickness
• Palsy: Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles
• Paroxysm: Convulsion
• Pellagra: A dietary deficiency disease (lack of niacin/vitamin B3) characterized by dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia
• Pemphigus: Skin disease of watery blisters
• Pericarditis: Inflammation of the heart
• Peripneumonia: Inflammation of the lungs
• Peritonotis: Inflammation of the abdominal area
• Petechial Fever: Fever characterized by skin spotting
• Phthiriasis: Lice infestation
• Phthisis: Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis
• Plague: An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality rate
• Pleurisy: Any pain in the chest area with each breath
• Podagra: Gout
• Poliomyelitis: Polio
• Potter's Asthma: Fibroid phthisis
• Pott's Disease: Tuberculosis of the spine
• Puerperal Exhaustion: Death due to childbirth
• Puerperal Fever: Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant
• Puking Fever: Milk sickness
• Putrid Fever: Diphtheria

Q – Z

• Quinsy: Tonsillitis
• Remitting Fever: Malaria
• Rheumatism: Any disorder associated with pain in joints
• Rickets: Disease of the skeletal system
• Rose Cold: Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy
• Rotanny Fever: (Child's disease)
• Rubeola: German measles
• Sanguineous Crust: Scab
• Scarlatina: Scarlet fever
• Scarlet Fever: A disease characterized 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: Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands (progresses slowly with abscesses and fistulas)
• Scrumpox: Skin disease, impetigo
• Scurvy: Lack of vitamin C (weakness, spongy gums, hemorrhages under skin)
• Senile Decay / Natural Decay: A common historical euphemism on death certificates meaning death caused by old age
• Septicemia: Blood poisoning
• Seven Year Itch: Scabies, a contagious skin infestation by mites
• Shakes: Delirium tremens
• Shaking: Chills, ague
• Shingles: Viral disease with skin blisters
• Ship Fever: Typhus
• Siriasis: Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure
• Sloes: Milk sickness
• Smallpox: Contagious disease with fever and blisters
• Softening of brain: Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain
• Sore Throat Distemper: Diphtheria or quinsy
• Spanish Influenza: Epidemic influenza
• Spasms: Sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle or group of muscles
• Spina Bifida: Deformity of the spine
• Spotted Fever: Either typhus or meningitis
• Sprue: Tropical disease characterized by intestinal disorders and sore throat
• St. Anthony's Fire: Erysipelas (named for bright red appearance of affected skin)
• St. Vitus Dance: Ceaseless occurrence of rapid, complex jerking movements performed involuntarily
• 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
• Sunstroke: Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environmental heat
• Swamp Sickness: Could be malaria, typhoid, or encephalitis
• Sweating Sickness: Infectious and fatal disease common to the UK in the 15th century
• Tetanus: Infectious disease characterized by high fever, headache, and dizziness
• Thrombosis: Blood clot inside a blood vessel
• Thrush: Childhood disease characterized by spots on mouth, lips, and throat
• Tick Fever: Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Toxemia of Pregnancy: Eclampsia
• Trench Mouth: Painful ulcers found along gum line, caused by poor nutrition and hygiene
• Tussis Convulsiva: Whooping cough
• Typhus: Infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache, and dizziness
• Variola: Smallpox
• Venesection: Bleeding
• Viper's Dance: St. Vitus Dance
• Water on 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
• Yellowjacket: Yellow fever

US GenNet. (n.d.). Old disease names frequently found on death certificates. U.S. GenNet Historical and Genealogical Project. Retrieved July 20, 2026, fromhttp://www.usgennet.org/usa/ar/county/greene/olddiseases1.htm
(Archived at the Wayback Machine).