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Diseases and Medical Terms

Many of the causes of death and disease described in old Scottish death certificates from 1855 onwards, are still valid today. Others are more obscure or have fallen out of use in modern medical terminology.

Listed below are around 80  frequently used medical terms and causes of disease and death certified by medical practioners in Scotland, as written on actual Scottish death certificates:


Diseases on Scottish death certificates from 1855

Abscess   

Formation of  pus in any part of the body, caused by infection

Anasarca 

Widespread swelling of the skin, often caused by heart or kidney failure

Aneurism   

Abnormal widening of an artery

Aortic aneurism 

Widening of the main abdominal artery often leading to rupture

Apoplexy

Bleeding in the brain as a result of a blood clot, a stroke

Aphtha  

Painful ulceration in the mouth

Arterio-sclerosis

Fatty deposits accumulating on the walls of  the arteries forming plaques (atheromas)

Ascites  

Excess fluid in the space between the abdomen and abdominal organs 

Asthenia

Loss of body strength, debility

Atherosclerosis

As for arterio-sclerosis (qv)

Atrophy 

A wasting away of tissue, for example atrophy of the liver

Boll hive   

A disease which killed infants (meaning presently unknown)

Bright's Disease

A disease of the kidneys

Broncho-pneumonia

Same as pneumonia, an inflammation of the lungs caused by an infection

Carcinoma

Cancer

Catarrh

Inflammation of the mucous membranes

Cerebral haemorrhage

Bleeding in the brain resulting in a stroke

Chin cough

Another name for whooping cough

Chorea 

Spasmodic involuntary movements of the limbs or facial muscles

Cirrhosis

Chronic disease of the liver causing scarring and liver disfunction

Consumption

Contagious bacterial infection in the lungs. Tuberculosis (TB)

Coronary ... 

Associated with the heart

Croup 

Hoarse cough in infants caused by swelling of the larnyx, caused by a virus

Debility 

A general weakened condition

Diabetes mellitus

Disorder characterised by elevated blood sugar levels

Dropsy 

Swelling from an accumulation of fluid, an oedema

Dyspepsia

Abdominal bloating - indigestion

Embolism

Blood clots travelling through the blood stream causing blockage of the renal artery to the kidney

Emphysema

Chronic respiratory disease of the lung air sacs

Endometritis 

Infection of the lining of the uterus

Erysipelas

Contagious bacterial skin infection, often on the face

Gastric ulcer

A break or tear in the tissue lining the stomach

Gastritis

Chronic or acute inflammation of the stomach 

General Paralysis

A euphemistic term for advanced syphilis causing death

Haemoptysis                

Coughing up of blood 

Haemorrhage            

Excessive bleeding, often within an organ

Hemiplegia

Paralysis affecting only one side of the body

Hemophilia  

Hereditary bleeding disorder, taking a long time for blood to clot

Hydrocephalus

An excessive amount of fluid around the brain and spinal column

Hypostatic

Setting of the blood by gravitation

Icterus

Jaundice. Yellowing of the skin due to excessive bilirubin in the body

Ischaemic

Ischaemic means an organ, for example the heart,  not receiving enough blood and oxygen

Jaundice

Yellowing of the skin caused by too many red blood cells dying

Lobar pneumonia 

Pneumonia affecting one or more lobes of the lung, often due to streptococcal infection

Lumbar... 

Connected with the back or spine

Marasmus  

Severe protein-energy malnutrition

Medullary...   

Inner core of an organ

Mitral regurgitation

Heart's mitral valve fails to close properly, causing blood to leak into upper heart chamber

Morbus cordis

Heart disease (morbus-disease; cordis-heart)

Myelitis 

Inflammation of the spinal cord

Myocardial infarction

An area of the heart muscle dies as a result of a lack of sufficient oxygen, a heart attack

Myopathy

A muscle-related disease

Neonatal...      

Referring to a baby of up to 4 weeks old

Nephritis 

Acute or chronic inflammation of the kidneys

Neuralgia

Nerve pain caused by infection or inflammation

Oedema  

Fluid accumulation & swelling. See pulmonary edema 

Otitis media 

Infection of the middle ear

Palsy  

Progressive paralysis caused by damage to brain nerve cells

Paralysis

Loss of muscle function due to nerve damage

Paralytic ileus

Paralysis of the bowel wall resulting in blockage of the bowel

Peritonitis

Inflammation of the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity

Phthsis pulmonalis

Tuberculosis of the lungs, consumption . Also spelled phthisis

Placenta praevia

Condition of pregnancy in which placenta grows too close to cervix

Pleuritis

Pleurisy, an inflammation around the lungs due to bacterial or viral infection

Puerpural septicaemia

Infection in birth canal following childbirth, often causing death within 3 weeks

Pulmonary ... 

Associated with the lungs

Pulmonary edema

Fluid accumulation and swelling in the lung

Renal ...    

Associated with the kidneys

Sclerosis

Thickening or hardening of a body part, eg an artery

Scrofulosis  

A tuberculous infection of skin or bone

Senility  

Critical weakening and decrepitude of the body through old age

Seroma

Swelling caused by accumulation of serum in an organ or tissue

Syncope

Fainting, a temporary loss of consciousness due to a drop in blood flow to the brain

Stenosis

Abnormal narrowing , a stricture , of a blood vessel or other tube such as the urethra.

Tabes mesenterica

Type of tuberculosis of the lymph glands

Thrombosis

Presence of clots in a blood vessel or in a heart chamber 

Tympanitis

Infection of the inner ear membrane

Vascular...      

Associated with the blood vessels

For permission to copy this list contact  ScotlandsFamily
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If you find a medical term or cause of death in a Scottish death certificate that you do not understand please contact us at Scotland's Family we will check it for you, and add it to the list above.

Wow, I'm impressed..... How in the world do you know these things?   Rebecca Sanford, 2012
 



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