DISEASES and MEDICAL TERMS
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Fainting Fits |
Probably a euphemism for epilepsy. |
Falling Sickness |
Epilepsy |
Fatty Liver |
Cirrhosis |
Fatuity |
Imbecility, dementia |
Fibrillation |
A quivering of muscle fibres. Auricular – instead of beating normally the cardiac auricles contract very rapidly and irregularly and beat independently of the ventricles. Treatment – large initial doses of digitalis are given. |
Fibrinous Angina |
Sore throat resembling Diphtheria but not fatal |
Fibrinous Bronchitis |
Chronic bronchitis |
Fistula |
An unusual communication between two different structures. |
Flux |
See dysentery. |
Foetid Bronchitis |
Bronchiectasis |
Foetor Oris |
Bad breath |
French Pox |
Syphilis |
Frogg |
Croup |
Furuncle |
See Boil. |
Galloping Consumption |
Pulmonary tuberculosis |
Gangrene |
Death and decay of tissue in a part of the body - usually a limb - due to injury, disease, or failure of blood supply. Synonym: mortification. |
Gangrenous Stomatitis |
See Cancrum Oris |
Gangrenous Ulceration Of The Mouth |
See Cancrum Oris |
Gathering |
A collection of pus |
General Paralysis of the Insane (GPI) |
Paralysis of the insane was the common term used for end stage syphilis. Causing dementia |
Glandular Fever |
Mononucleosis or infectious mononucleosis |
Gleet |
See catarrh. |
Glomerulonephritis |
Glomerulus. A coil of minute arterial capillaries of the capsule at the commencement of the uriniferous tubules of the kidney |
Glossal Pharyngolaryngeal Paralysis |
Tongue, pharynx (back cavity of mouth) paralysis of the muscles of both. |
Glycoasuria |
The presence of sugar in the urine. |
Goitre Endocarditis |
Inflammation of the endocardium and valves. The most common causes are rheumatic and septicaemia. |
Gout |
Any inflammation due to the formation of crystals of sodium bi-urate caused by a build up of urate or uric acid in the blood. It most often occurs in joints where circulation is poor, and can even cause gallstones or kidney stones |
Gravel |
A disease characterised by multiple small calculi (stones or concretions of mineral salts) which are formed in the kidneys, passed along the ureters to the bladder, and expelled with the urine. Synonym: kidney stone. |
Great Pox |
Syphilis |
Green Fever |
Anaemia |
Green Sickness |
Anaemia |
Grip, Gripe or Grippe |
An old term for influenza |
Griped |
With respect to the bowels, afflicted with spasmodic pain as if by contraction or constriction |
Grocer's Itch |
Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour |
Grog Blossoms |
Pimples on the nose in acne rosacea |
Haematemesis |
Vomiting blood from the stomach. The blood is often stale and therefore contains coagulated particles resembling coffee grains. |
Haematuria |
Bloody urine |
Haemoptysis |
Bleeding from the lungs. The coughing up of blood. The blood is alkaline in reaction, frothy and bright red. |
Hammer Nose |
The swollen nose of acne rosacea |
Heart dropsy |
Hydropericardium |
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 |
Hectic(al) fever |
A daily recurring fever with profound sweating, chills, and flushed appearance—often associated with pulmonary tuberculosis or septic poisoning. |
Hemiplegy, Hemiplegia |
Paralysis of one side of body |
Hip gout |
Osteomylitis |
Hives |
A skin eruption of wheals (smooth, slightly elevated areas on the skin) which is redder or paler than the surrounding skin. Often attended by severe itching, it usually changes its size or shape or disappears within a few hours. It is the dermal evidence of allergy. See the discussion under croup; also called cynanche trachealis. In the mid-nineteenth century, hives was a commonly given cause of death of children three years and under. Because true hives does not kill, croup was probably the actual cause of death in those children. |
Horrors |
See Delirium tremens |
Hospital fever |
See Typhus. |
Hydrocephalus |
See Dropsy. |
Hydropericardium |
Excessive fluid in the space around the heart leading to constriction of the heart |
Hydrophobia |
Rabies |
Hydropsy |
Dropsy is a contraction of hydropsy |
Hydrothorax |
See Dropsy. |
Hypercalcaemia |
Renal failure. |
Hyperpiesis |
An elevation of the normal blood pressure. |
Hyperplasia |
Overgrowth of tissue by an increase in the number of cells. |
Hypertrophy |
Enlargement of any tissue or organ, but not due to its natural growth |
Hypostatic Pneumonia |
Pneumonia in the lower parts of the lungs. |
Ichor |
Leakage of fluid from a sore or wound. |
Icterus |
See jaundice. |
Ictus |
Fit (convulsion); sudden pulsation or stroke |
Contagious skin disease usually of the face characterised by pustules and crusts | |
Inanition |
Exhaustion from lack of nourishment; starvation. A condition characterised by marked weakness, extreme weight loss, and a decrease in metabolism resulting from severe and prolonged (usually weeks to months) insufficiency of food. |
Incubus |
Nightmare; demon taking on male form to have sexual intercourse with a woman in her sleep |
Infantile Paralysis |
Poliomyelitis (polio) |
Infarct |
A wedge shaped area of dead tissue, which is deprived of blood by the sudden blockage of a terminal or end artery. |
Infection |
The affection or contamination of a person, organ, or wound with invading, multiplying, disease-producing germs—such as bacteria, rickettsiae, viruses, moulds, yeasts, and protozoa. In the early part of the last century, infections were thought to be the propagation of disease by effluvia (see above) from patients crowded together. "Miasma" were believed to be substances which could not be seen in any form—emanations not apparent to the senses. Such miasmas were understood to act by infection. |
Inflammation |
Redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, heat, and disturbed function of an area of the body, especially as a reaction of tissue to injurious agents. This mechanism serves as a localised and protective response to injury. The word ending -itis denotes inflammation on the part indicated by the word stem to which it is attached—that is, appendicitis, pleuritis, etc. Microscopically, it involves a complex series of events, including enlargement of the sizes of blood vessels; discharge of fluids, including plasma proteins; and migration of leukocytes (white blood cells) into the inflammatory focus. In the last century, cause of death often was listed as inflammation of a body organ - such as, brain or lung - but this was purely a descriptive term and is not helpful in identifying the actual underlying disease. |
Intermittent Fever |
Illness marked by episodes of fever with return to completely normal temperature; usually malaria. |
Interstitial |
Situated between. Distributed through the connective structure. |
Intussusception |
The slipping of one part within another, as the prolapse of one part of the intestine into the lumen of an immediately adjoining part. This leads to obstruction and often must be relieved by surgery. Synonym: intussusception. |
Ischaemia |
Local anaemia due to defective blood supply to the part. |
Ischaemic Heart Disease |
Narrowing of the arteries. |
Jail fever |
See Typhus. |
Jaundice |
Yellow discolouration of the skin, whites of the eyes, and mucous membranes, due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood—often symptomatic of certain diseases, such as hepatitis, obstruction of the bile duct, or cancer of the liver. Synonym - icterus. |
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