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Cacatoria
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An epithet
given by Sylvius to a kind of intermittent fever, attended with
copious stools. [Hooper1829]
Diarrhoea.
[Dunglison1868] |
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Cachaemia
|
A degenerated or poisoned condition of the blood. [Webster]
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Cachexia
|
A bad habit of body,
known by a depraved or vitiated state of the solids and fluids.
[Hooper1829].
A condition in which
the system of nutrition is evidently depraved. A bad habit of
body, chiefly the result of scorbutic, cancerous, tuberculous or
venereal diseases when in their advanced stages.
[Dunglison1874].
A condition of ill
health and impairment of nutrition due to impoverishment of the
blood, esp. when caused by a specific morbid process (as cancer
or tubercle). [Webster1913].
Weight loss, wasting
of muscle, loss of appetite, and general debility that can occur
during a chronic disease. [Heritage].
Any general reduction
in vitality and strength of body and mind resulting from a
debilitating chronic disease (syn: cachexy, wasting). [Wordnet]
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Cachexia Africana |
Chthonophagia |
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Cachexy
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Cachexia
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Cacochymie
|
An unhealthy state of
the body. [Buchan1798]
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Cacogastric
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Troubled with bad digestion. [Webster1913]
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Cacosphyxia
|
Bad state of Pulse.
-Galen [Dunglison1855]
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Caddy Stools
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The evacuations in yellow fever, which resemble
fine, dark, sandy mud. [Appleton1904]
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Caducity
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The portion of
human life which is comprised generally between 70 and 80 years.
The age which precedes decrepitude. It is so termed in consequence
of the limbs not usually possessing sufficient strength to support
the body. [Dunglison1855]
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Calculus / Calculi
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An abnormal concretion in the body usually formed of mineral salts
and found in the gallbladder, kidney, or urinary bladder, for example.
Gravel. [Dorland]
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Calenture / Calentura
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A febrile delirium,
said to be peculiar to sailors, wherein they imagine the sea to
be green fields and will throw themselves into it if not
restrained. [Hooper1829]
A violent fever,
attended with delirium, incident to persons in hot countries.
Under its influence it is said that sailors imagine the sea to
be green fields, and will throw themselves into it, if not
restrained. [Hoblyn1855]
Fever. The term was
used by the old Spanish navigators to denote any form of fever
with delirium observed in the tropics, and from them Sauvages
adopted it as the name of a special disease (which has been
described as peculiar to mariners and characterized by a
particular form of delirium in which the patient, unless
prevented, will jump into the sea, thinking that he is walking
into green fields); but its use in the sense has been discarded.
[Applton1904].
A name formerly given
to various fevers occurring in tropics; esp. to a form of
furious delirium accompanied by fever, among sailors, which
sometimes led the affected person to imagine the sea to be a
green field, and to throw himself into it. [Webster1913]
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Camp Fever
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This term was used for all of the continuing fevers experienced
by the army: Typhoid Fever, Malarial Remittent Fever, and Typho-malarial
Fever. The last named is a combination of elements from the first
two diseases. This combination, Typho-malarial Fever, was the characteristic
"camp fever" during the Civil War. Symptoms included: a pronounced
chill followed by an intermittent fever, abdominal tenderness and
nausea, general debility, diarrhea, retention of urine, and furring
of the tongue. Typhus castrensis in Latin. [CivilWarMed]
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Cancer
|
Formerly, any malignant growth, esp. one attended
with great pain and ulceration, with cachexia and progressive emaciation.
It was so called, perhaps, from the great veins which surround it,
compared by the ancients to the claws of a crab. The term is now
restricted to such a growth made up of aggregations of epithelial
cells, either without support or embedded in the meshes of a trabecular
framework. Note: Four kinds of cancers are recognized: (1) {Epithelial
cancer, or Epithelioma}, in which there is no trabecular framework.
See {Epithelioma}. (2) {Scirrhous cancer, or Hard cancer}, in which
the framework predominates, and the tumor is of hard consistence
and slow growth. (3) {Encephaloid, Medullary, or Soft cancer}, in
which the cellular element predominates, and the tumor is soft,
grows rapidly, and often ulcerates. (4) {Colloid cancer}, in which
the cancerous structure becomes gelatinous. The last three varieties
are also called {carcinoma}. [Webster1913].
Any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal
and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of
the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream. [Wordnet]
Information sheet from NYS Dept
of Health
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Cancrum Oris
|
Canker of the mouth; a fretted ulceration of
the gums. [Hooper1829]
Canker; a fetid
ulcer, with jagged edges, of the gums and inside of the lips and
cheeks, attended with copious flow of offensive saliva. It
occurs pricipally in children. [Hoblyn1855]
A deep, foul, fetid,
irregular ulcer inside the lips and cheeks; often attended with
the discharge of blood. [Thomas1875]
A fetid ulcer of the
gums and cheeks, of gangrenous character, chiefly occurring in
children. [Cleaveland1886]
Noma of the oral tissues called also gangrenous
stomatitis. [Merriam]
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Candidiasis
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Infection with a fungus of the genus Candida, especially C. albicans,
that usually occurs in the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth,
respiratory tract, or vagina but may invade the bloodstream, especially
in immunocompromised individuals. Also called candidosis, moniliasis.
[Heritage]
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Canker
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A corroding or sloughing ulcer; esp. a spreading
gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the mouth;
-- called also water canker, canker of the mouth, and noma. [Webster1913]
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Canker of the Mouth
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Cancer Aquaticus
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Canker Rash
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A form of scarlet fever characterized by ulcerated or putrid sore
throat. [Webster]
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Canker Sore
|
A
small ulcer crater in the lining of the mouth that is often painful
and very sensitive. Also known as an aphthous ulcer. Canker sores
are one of the most common problems that occur in the mouth. About
20% of the population has canker sores at any given time. Canker
sores typically last for 10-14 days and they heal without leaving
a scar. The word "canker" comes from the Latin "cancer" for crab.
(In Latin "cancer" was once pronounced kanker from which came canker).
Chronic ulcers might seem as hard as a crab shell. [Medicinenet]
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Canton Disease
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Syphilis. The Chinese
called it the Canton disease.
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Carcarus
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A fever in which the patient has a
continual horror and trembling, with an unceasing sounding in
his ears. [Hooper1829] |
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Carcinoma
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A malignant new growth made up of epithelial cells tending to infiltrate
the surrounding tissues and give rise to metastases. [Dorland]
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Cardiac Insufficiency
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Inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles; can cause angina pectoris
(syn: coronary insufficiency) [Wordnet]
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Cardiagra
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Gout or pain of the heart. [Dunglison1868]
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- Cardialgia
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- Properly, neuralgia
of the stomach, but often applied to various forms of gastric
pain and to pyrosis. [Appleton1904]
Obsolete term
for pyrosis. [CancerWEB] |
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Cardioptosis
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A condition in which the heart is unduly movable and displaced downward.
[CancerWEB]
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Carditis
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Inflammation of the heart
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Caries
|
A rottenness of the
bone. [Buchan1798]
Ulceration of the
bones. [Hoblyn1855]
A disease of bones, analogous to ulceration of the soft parts.
[Thomas1875]
Ulceration of bone; a process in which bone disintegrates and is
carried away piecemeal, as distinguished from necrosis, in which
it dies in masses. [Dorland]
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Castilian Disease
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Syphilis. The Portuguese
called it the Castilian disease.
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Catalepsy
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A trancelike state with loss of voluntary motion and failure to
react to stimuli. [Wordnet]
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Cataplexy
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A sudden loss of muscle tone and strength, usually caused by an
extreme emotional stimulus. [Heritage]
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Cataract
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Clouding of the lens of the eye. In people with diabetes, this condition
is sometimes referred to as "sugar cataract." [HyperBiology]
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Catarrh
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An inflammatory affection of any mucous membrane,
in which there are congestion, swelling, and an alteration in the
quantity and quality of mucus secreted; as, catarrh of the stomach;
catarrh of the bladder. Note: In America, the term catarrh is applied
especially to a chronic inflammation of, and hyper secretion from,
the membranes of the nose or air passages; in England, to an acute
influenza, resulting in a cold, and attended with cough, thirst,
lassitude, and watery eyes; also, to the cold itself. [Webster1913].
Inflammation of mucous membranes, especially
of the nose and throat. [Heritage].
"catarrh" was first used: sometime in the
early 15th century. [Webster]
Example
from a Civil War Hospital Record:

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Autumnal Catarrh
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An affection of the mucous membrane of the eyes, nose, and upper-air
passages, characterized by coryza, laryngeal irritation, and asthma,
and occurring during the summer months, usually August and September,
and disappearing with the first heavy frost. [Thomas1907]
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Catarrhal Fever
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A fever, either typhoid, nervous, or synochal,
attended with symptoms of catarrh. [Hooper1843].
Old term for the group of respiratory tract
diseases including the common cold, influenza, and lobular and lobar
pneumonia. [CancerWEB]
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Epidemic Catarrh
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Influenza
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Pulmonary Catarrh
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Bronchitis
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Suffocative Catarrh
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A severe laryngitis or bronchitis producing symptoms of suffocation.
[Appleton1904]
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Summer Catarrh
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Hay Fever
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Cauliflower Excrescence
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A disease of the os
uteri; supposed by Gooch to be encephalesis. [Hoblyn1855]
An excrescence, which appears about the origin of the mucous membranes,
chiefly about the anus and vulva, and which resembles, in appearance,
the head of the cauliflower. It is often syphilitic in its character.
[Dunglison1874]
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Cellulitis
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Ethmyphitis. A
diseased condition of the subcutaneous areolar tissue and
connective tissue, presenting œdema, swelling, hardness,
bogginess, fluctuation, suppuration, and sometimes sloughing. It
is usually preceded by a wound, such as the bite of an animal,
or an infected lesion of some sort. A dissection wound is a
common type. The pain is severe, and there are generally
somewhat grave constitutional symptoms, as fever, severe
headache, nausea, prostration, loss of appetite, and
general weakness. Salines, iron, and sometimes stimulants are
useful, with incisions to relieve tension or to let out the
products of suppuration. [New International Encyclopedia 1904]
An
inflammation
of
the
cellular
or
areolar
tissue,
esp.
of
that
lying
immediately
beneath
the
skin.
[Webster1913]
Cellulitis is a spreading
infection of connective tissues, usually caused by streptococci
bacteria. [Biology Dictionary]
An
inflammation
of
body
tissue
(especially
that
below
the
skin)
characterized
by
fever
and
swelling
and
redness
and
pain.
[Wordnet]
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Cephalaemia
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Congestion, active or passive, of the brain. [CancerWEB]
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Cephalgia / Cephalalgia
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Headache
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Cephalitis
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Inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis. [Dunglison1868]
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Cerebritis
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Inflammation of the cerebrum.
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Cerebro-Spinal Fever
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A dangerous epidemic, and endemic, febrile disease, characterized
by inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, giving
rise to severe headaches, tenderness of the back of the neck, paralysis
of the ocular muscles, etc. It is sometimes marked by a cutaneous
eruption, when it is often called spotted fever. It is not contagious.
Meningitis. [Webster]
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Chagres Fever
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A form of
malarial fever occurring
along the Chagres River, Panama. [Webster]
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Chalkstone
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A chalklike concretion, consisting mainly of urate of sodium, found
in and about the small joints, in the external ear, and in other
situations, in hose affected with gout; a tophus. [Webster1913]
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Chancre
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A sore or ulcer arising from the direct application of the
syphilitic poison. [Thomas1875]
A venereal sore or ulcer; specifically, the initial lesion of true
syphilis, whether forming a distinct ulcer or not; -- called also
hard chancre, indurated chancre, and Hunterian chancre. [Webster]
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Chancroid
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A soft, highly infectious, nonsyphilitic venereal ulcer of the genital
region caused by the bacillus Hemophilus ducreyi. Also called soft
chancre. [Heritage]
Information sheet from NYS Dept
of Health
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Change of Life
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Critical Age. That period of
female life when the catamenia become irregular, and ultimately
cease. It is often attended with serious constitutional
disturbance, and is sometimes the commencement of fatal
diseases. [Thomas1875]
The period in the life of a woman
when menstruation and the capacity for conception cease, usually
occurring between forty-five and fifty years of age. [Webster]
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Chappa |
The name
among the Popo people in the colony Lagos for a disease believed
to be neither tuberculosis nor syphilitic, marked by severe
initial pains in muscles and joints, followed by swelling and
formation of round multiple nodules the size of a pigeon's egg;
without forming abscesses these are exposed by ulceration of the
skin. The disease finally attacks the bones. [Gould1916] |
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Chichism
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Pellagra
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Chicken breast
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Pigeon Breast
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Chicken Pox
|
- A popular name of a species of
varicella. [Hoblyn1855]
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- A mild, eruptive
disease, generally attacking children only; varicella. [Webster1913].
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- An acute contagious
disease, primarily of children, that is caused by the varicella-zoster
virus and characterized by skin eruptions, slight fever, and
malaise. Also called
varicella. [Heritage]
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Fact sheet from CDC
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Information
Card from the CDC
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Information sheet from NYS
Dept of Health
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Chiggers
|
A skin infestation, common in the southern United States, caused
by the larva of the red mite (harvest mite). Features include an
itchy red rash to the waist, ankle and skin folds. No specific treatment
is necessary as the rash will resolve spontaneously. Antihistamines
can be used to control itching. [CancerWEB]
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Chilblain
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A kibe or Pernio. Chilblains are painful inflammatory swellings,
of a deep purple or leaden colour, to which the fingers, toes,
heels, and other extreme parts of the body are subject, on being
exposed to a severe degree of cold. [Hooper1829]
An erythematous inflammation of the feet, hands, etc. occasioned
by cold. It is very common in youth. It is apt to degenerate into
painful, indolent ulcerations, called Kibes, see Mules. [Dunglison1874]
An inflammation
followed by itchy irritation on the hands, feet, or ears,
resulting from exposure to moist cold. [American Heritage]
No, chilblains (pernio)
is not the same as frostbite. Chilblains is inflammation of the
small blood vessels in the skin in response to cold but
above-freezing temperatures. This results in red, swollen skin —
usually on the face, ears, fingers and toes — which appears
several hours after exposure to cold. You may also experience an
itchy, burning sensation in the affected skin. Sometimes
chilblains progresses to blisters and even open sores. [Mayoclinic]
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Child Bed Fever
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The most fatal disorder consequent upon delivery is the puerperal,
or child-bed fever. It begins, like most other fevers, with a cold
or shivering fit, which is succeeded by restlessness, pain of the
head, great sickness at stomach, and bilious vomiting. The pulse
is generally quick, the tongue dry, and there is a remarkable depression
of spirits and loss of strength. A great pain is usually felt in
the back, hips, and region of the womb; a sudden change in the quantity
or quality of the lochia also takes place; and the patient is frequently
troubled with a tenesmus, or constant inclination to go to stool.
The urine, which is very high-colored, is discharged in small quantity,
and generally with pain. The belly sometimes swells to a considerable
bulk, and becomes susceptible of pain from the slightest touch.
When the fever has continued for a few days, the symptoms of inflammation
usually subside, and the disease acquires a more putrid form. At
this period, if not sooner, a bilious or putrid looseness, of an
obstinate and dangerous nature, comes on, and accompanies the disease
through all its future progress. [Buchan1785].
Puerperal fever; and often called
peritoneal fever. [Hoblyn1855]
Fever due to an infection usually of the placental site within the
uterus. The fever is also called childbirth fever or puerperal fever.
If the infection involves the bloodstream, it constitutes puerperal
sepsis. In Latin a "puerpera" is a woman in childbirth since "puer"
means child and "parere" means to give birth. The puerperium is
the time immediately after the delivery of a baby. [Medicinenet]
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Childbirth
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A cause given for many female deaths of the
nineteenth century. Almost all babies were born in homes and usually
were delivered by a family member or midwife; thus infection and
lack of medical skill were often the actual causes of death. [NGSQ1988]
Example from an 1852 death certificate
from England:

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Childcrowing
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The crowing noise made by children affected with spasm of the laryngeal
muscles; false croup. Spasmodic Croup. [Webster]
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Chills
|
Chills & Fever
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Chills & Fever
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Malarial Fever
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Chin Cough
|
Pertussis,
Whooping cough.
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Chinese Disease
|
Syphilis. The Japanese
called it either the Portuguese or Chinese disease.
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Chiragra
|
Gout in the hand.
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Chloasma
|
A patchy brown or dark brown skin discoloration that usually occurs
on a woman's faces and may result from hormonal changes, as in pregnancy.
[Heritage]
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Chlorosis
|
A form of anemia observed mostly in pubescent girls in whom menstruation
has not become regularly established, and occasionally in boys at
about the period of puberty. The liquor sanguine is redundant and
the blood corpuscles are decreased in number; anemic murmurs are
audible in the large superficial veins, and the action of the heart
may be irregular and excessive; the complexion becomes very pale
and subsequently greenish; the appetite is defective or depraved;
the tissues are flabby; and there is a general feeling of lassitude
and despondency. There may be headache, vertigo, disorders of sensibility,
and affections of various mucous membranes. [Appleton1904].
A form of primary anemia affecting mostly girls at the period of
puberty or early womanhood, and characterized by a marked deficiency
of hemoglobin in the red corpuscles; Green Sickness. [CancerWEB]
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Choak
|
Cynanche Trachealis
|
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Chock
|
The
Croup (from the west
coast of Scotland)
|
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Chocolate Cyst
|
Cyst of the ovary with intracavitary hemorrhage and formation of
a haematoma containing old brown blood; often seen with endometriosis
of the ovary but occasionally with other types of cyst's. [CancerWEB]
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Choix Fever
|
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
|
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Cholelithiasis
|
The presence or formation of gallstones in the gallbladder or bile
ducts. [Heritage]
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Cholera
|
- Any disease characterized
by repeated simultaneous purging and vomiting, with painful
spasms of the stomach and bowels and occasional cramps of the
external muscles; as commonly used, Asiatic cholera. [Appleton1904].
-
- A malignant and
rapidly fatal disease, originating in Asia and frequently epidemic
in the more filthy sections of other lands, to which the germ
or specific poison may have been carried. It is characterized
by diarrhea, rice-water evacuations, vomiting, cramps, pinched
expression, and lividity, rapidly passing into a state of collapse,
followed by death, or by a stage of reaction of fever. [Webster].
-
-
"cholera" was first used: 14th century. [Webster].
-
-
Fact sheet from CDC
-
Information sheet from NYS
Dept of Health
-
Fact sheet from WHO
Example
from an 1850 Mortality Schedule from Chicago:
 |
|
Algid Cholera
|
Asiatic Cholera.
Algid: chilly; "a person who is algid is marked
by prostration and has cold clammy skin and low blood pressure"
[Wordnet]
|
|
Asiatic Cholera
|
A remarkable epidemic disease, consisting in the malignant form
of cholera, in which all of the symptoms are much more severe
and rapid in their prograss to a too generally fatal issue.
[Thomas1875]
An acute infectious disease indigenous to India, characterized by
vomiting and purging; the discharges resembling rice water; by painful
cramps; and by the early occurrence of collapse with suppression
of urine and a peculiar coldness of breadth. [Appleton1904]
|
|
Bilious Cholera
|
Copious and frequent
vomiting, at first of the alimentary and fecal matters, with
redundancy of bile, and spasms of the legs and thighs. This is
nothing more than a form or variety of European Cholera.
[Thomas1875]
A form of simple cholera characterized by purging,
vomiting of bile, and spasms of the lower extremities. Regarded
as real or Asiatic cholera if it occurred during an epidemic of
the latter. [Appleton1904]
|
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British Cholera
|
Simple Cholera
|
|
Epidemic Cholera
|
Asiatic Cholera
|
|
European Cholera
|
A name given to
cholera as it usually appears in Europe when not epidemic, to
distinguish it from the epidemic and malignant form of the
disease known as Asiatic Cholera. [Thomas1875]
|
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Indian Cholera
|
Asiatic Cholera
|
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Cholera Infantum
|
Summer complaint. A
disease of infants; indigenous to the United States; prevalent
during hot weather in most of the towns of the middle and
southern, and many of the western States; ordinarily
characterized by excessive irritability of stomach, with
purging, the stools being thin and colorless, or of various hues
ofgreen and pink, but never yellow, except at the onset or
during convalescences; fever of an obscurely remittent
character; rapid emaciation; cold feet and hands, with
preternatural heat of head and abdomen; dry, harsh and wilted
skin; excessive thirst; and in the latter stages somnolency, the
patient sleeping with his eyes half open; coma; the case
terminating often with convulsions. [Hoblyn1855]
A disease that occurs, generally, in the Middle
States of the Union, in June or July, and continues during hot weather;
hence called the 'summer complaint'. The chief symptoms are vomiting,
purging of green or yellow matter, slime, or blood, attended with
pain or uneasiness, and swelling of the abdomen, with some pyrexia,
generally. Differs little from what is vulgarly called the Watery
Gripes in England. [Dunglison1874].
A dangerous summer disease, of infants, caused
by hot weather, bad air, or poor milk, and especially fatal in large
cities. [Webster].
Often fatal form of gastroenteritis occurring
in children; not true cholera but having similar symptoms. [Wordnet]
Example
from a Church in New York:

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Cholera Maligna
|
Asiatic Cholera
|
|
Cholera Morbus
|
A common name of non-epidemic cholera. [Thomas1875]
A disease characterized by vomiting and purging, with gripings and
cramps, usually caused by imprudence in diet or by gastrointestinal
disturbance. Simple cholera. [Webster]
|
|
Cholera Nostras
|
Simple Cholera
|
|
Cholera Sicca
|
An old term for a malignant form of disease seen during epidemics
of Asiatic cholera in which death occurs without diarrhea. [CancerWEB]
|
|
Simple Cholera
|
A disease most common in hot climates, at the close of summer or
early autumn. Characterized by an acute catarrhal inflammation of
the stomach which extends into the intestines. It generally begins
with pain in the bowels, nausea and vomiting, and cramps in the
extremities, followed by severe watery diarrhea. [Appleton1904]
|
|
Chorea
|
St. Vitus's dance; a disease attended with
convulsive twitching and other involuntary movements of the muscles
or limbs. [Webster1913].
Any of various disorders of the nervous system
marked by involuntary, jerky movements, especially of the arms,
legs, and face, and by incoordination. [Heritage]
|
|
Chorea Sancti Viti
|
St. Vitus' Dance
|
|
Chorea, Sydenham's
|
An acute neurologic disorder that emerges
several months following a streptococcal ("strep") infection,
most frequently in children between the age of 5 and 15. There
may be a history of a strep throat or a strep skin infection.
There may similarly be a history of another sequel of a strep
infection such as scarlet fever, glomerulonephritis or,
especially, rheumatic fever. The body movements, called chorea,
in Sydenham disease are typically twisting. They are involuntary
(not on purpose) and may involve jumping and dancing. They can
become quite severe and interfere with normal walking and normal
use of the arms as well as talking. The chorea tends especially
to involve the distal limbs (the forearms and hands and the
lower legs and feet) and is associated with hypotonia (decreased
muscle tone) and emotional lability. Improvement usually occurs
over a period of weeks or months but exacerbation (worsening)
may occur without the recurrence of the strep infection.
Sydenham's chorea can be treated with drugs. Sydenham chorea was
also called St. Vitus dance. [MedicineNet] |
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Chrisom
|
A child which died within a month after its baptism; -- so called
from the chrisom cloth which was used as a shroud for it. [Webster]
|
|
Christian Disease
|
Syphilis. The Turks
called it the Christian disease.
|
|
Chthonophagia |
A disease not uncommon among the negroes
of the South, accompanied by a strong desire to eat dirt or
earthy matter. [Thomas1875] |
|
Chyluria
|
A morbid condition in which the urine contains chyle or fatty matter,
giving it a milky appearance. [Heritage]
|
|
Cicatrix
|
Scar
|
|
Cinchonism
|
A condition produced by the excessive or long-continued use of quinine,
and marked by deafness, roaring in the ears, vertigo, etc. [Webster]
|
|
Cirrhosis
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Chronic interstitial inflammation of any tissue or organ. [Heritage]
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The Clap
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The vulgar name of a
venereal infection. [Hoblyn1855]
Popular name for gonorrhea. [Dorland]
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Coeliagra
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Gout of the abdomen.
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Climacteric
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A word, which properly signifies 'by
degrees.' It has been applied to certain times of life,
regarded to be critical; but is now chiefly applied to
certain periods of life, at which great changes occur,
independently of any numerical estimate of years. Such are
the period of puberty in both sexes; that of the cessation
of the menses in women, etc. [Dunglison1868]
Climacteric years: are, according to
some, all those in the life of man which are multiples of
the number 7. Others have applied the term to years,
resulting from the multiplication of 7 by an odd number.
Some have admitted only three climacterics; others,
again, have extended them to multiples of 9. Most, however,
have considered the 63rd year to be the Grand Climacteric;
63 being the product of multiplication of 7 and 9, and all
have thought that the period of three, seven, or nine, which
they respectively adopted, was necessary to the entire
renewal of the body; so that there was, at these times, in
the economy, none of the parts of which it had previously
consisted. All the notions on the subject are essentially
allied to the doctrine of numbers of Pythagoras.
[Dunglison1874]
The term
"climacteric" comes from the Greek word for rung of a ladder
and refers to the period of passage out of the reproductive
stage of life and into the nonreproductive phase. In women,
it encompasses perimenopause, menopause, and the early
postmenopausal years. The climacteric can be accompanied by
wide-ranging symptoms that are quite bothersome. However,
physicians who understand the hormonal symptoms, who can
differentiate these symptoms from age-related changes, and
who are familiar with hormone replacement therapies,
alternative therapies, and effective life-style
modifications can help their patients gain relief.
(www.postgradmed.com)
Example from an 1865 death certificate
from England:

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Climacteric Disease
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This term has been
applied to a sudden and general alteration of health, occurring
at a certain period of life, and of uncertain duration.
[Hoblyn1855]
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Coffee-Grounds Vomit
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Vomit with semi digested blood.
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Coeliac Passion
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Lientery
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Cold
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A catarrhal disorder of the upper respiratory tract, which may be
viral, a mixed infection, or an allergic reaction. It is marked
by acute rhinitis, a slight rise in temperature, and chilly sensations.
[Dorland]
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Cold Fever
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An outbreak of
Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the spring of 1814 in Maine. Also
called spotted fever. [History and Description of an Epidemic
Fever, Commonly Called Spotted Fever, Which Prevailed at
Gardiner, Maine, in the Spring of 1814. Author: HALE, E]
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Cold in the Head
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Acute Rhinitis
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Colic / Colica
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Colic signifies an affection or pain in the colon. But it is employed
in a more extensive signification. It includes every acute pain
in the abdomen, aggravated at intervals. The word has often, however,
epithets affixed to it, which render it more or less precise. [Dunglison1868].
Severe abdominal pain caused by spasm, obstruction, or distention
of any of the hollow viscera, such as the intestines. Often a condition
of early infancy, colic is marked by chronic irritability and crying.
[Dorland].
"colic" was first used: sometime around
1421. [Webster]
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Arthritic Colic
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Colic due to gout. [Appleton1904]
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