Cause of Death Decoder Part 2

 

Cause of Death Decoder 

Part 2

We translate the medical terms your ancestors' doctors used
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Note: Historical medical terms were used inconsistently. The same symptoms might be called different things by different doctors in different decades. Causes of death on early records were often symptoms rather than diagnoses — "fever" or "convulsions" tell you what the person experienced, not necessarily the underlying disease. Use these translations as starting points, not definitive diagnoses.

Digestive

3 terms found

Bilious FeverDigestive

→ Liver-related fever, possibly malaria, typhoid, or hepatitis

A fever accompanied by vomiting bile. Could indicate malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, or other liver-related conditions. 'Bilious' referred to any condition involving the bile.

Common 1700s–1880s

Cholera MorbusDigestive

→ Acute gastroenteritis

Severe vomiting and diarrhea in adults. Not the same as Asiatic cholera. Could be caused by food poisoning, viral infection, or other gastrointestinal conditions.

Common 1700s–1900

FluxDigestive

→ Dysentery or severe diarrhea

'Bloody flux' was dysentery. Plain 'flux' was any severe, prolonged diarrhea. One of the most common causes of death in colonial and frontier America.

Common 1600s–1880s

Brain & Nerves

6 terms found

ApoplexyBrain & Nerves

→ Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)

Sudden loss of consciousness, often with paralysis. Almost always refers to what we now call a stroke. 'Died of apoplexy' was one of the most common death certificate entries for elderly people.

Common 1700s–1920s

Brain FeverBrain & Nerves

→ Meningitis or encephalitis

High fever with delirium and altered consciousness. Usually refers to meningitis or encephalitis, though it could describe any severe infection affecting the brain.

Common 1700s–1900

Congestion of the BrainBrain & Nerves

→ Stroke or cerebral hemorrhage

Essentially the same as apoplexy — a stroke or bleeding in the brain. Used when the doctor believed blood had accumulated in the brain.

Common 1800s–1920s

FitsBrain & Nerves

→ Seizures / epilepsy

Any type of seizure or convulsion. In children, often caused by high fever ('febrile seizures'). In adults, could indicate epilepsy, stroke, or other neurological conditions.

Common 1700s–1920s

NostalgiaBrain & Nerves

→ Depression / severe homesickness (military term)

A clinical diagnosis used in Civil War military records. Soldiers who became severely depressed, stopped eating, and wasted away were diagnosed with 'nostalgia.' Some died from it.

Civil War era

Softening of the BrainBrain & Nerves

→ Stroke, dementia, or cerebral atrophy

A vague term used when a person experienced progressive mental decline. Could indicate stroke, Alzheimer's disease, syphilitic dementia, or other neurological conditions.

Common 1800s–1920s

Maternal & Infant

8 terms found

Childbed FeverMaternal & Infant

→ Puerperal sepsis (postpartum infection)

A bacterial infection contracted during or after childbirth. One of the leading causes of death for young women before antiseptic practices became standard. Also called 'puerperal fever'.

Common 1700s–1940s

Cholera InfantumMaternal & Infant

→ Severe infant gastroenteritis

A deadly diarrheal disease of infants and young children, caused by contaminated milk or water. Killed vast numbers of children in summer months. Not the same as Asiatic cholera.

Common 1800s–1920s

MarasmusMaternal & Infant

→ Severe malnutrition / wasting in infants

Progressive wasting in infants and young children from severe malnutrition or chronic disease. The child became skeletal. Often caused by contaminated or inadequate milk.

Common 1800s–1930s

Puerperal FeverMaternal & Infant

→ Postpartum sepsis

Same as childbed fever. A bacterial infection following childbirth, caused by unclean hands and instruments. The leading cause of maternal death until Semmelweis and later Lister introduced antiseptic practices.

Common 1700s–1940s

Rising of the LightsMaternal & Infant

→ Croup or severe respiratory distress in children

A folk term for any severe breathing difficulty in a child, where the 'lights' (lungs) seemed to rise up in the chest. Usually croup or another upper respiratory obstruction.

Common 1700s–1880s

Summer ComplaintMaternal & Infant

→ Infant gastroenteritis / cholera infantum

A catch-all term for the diarrheal diseases that killed enormous numbers of infants every summer. Caused by contaminated milk and water in hot weather before refrigeration.

Common 1800s–1920s

TeethingMaternal & Infant

→ Various childhood illnesses coinciding with teething

Doctors attributed many infant deaths to teething. In reality, the timing of teething (6–24 months) overlapped with the age when maternal antibodies waned and children were exposed to infections. Deaths blamed on teething were actually from infections, diarrheal diseases, and fevers.

Common 1700s–1920s

Worm FitMaternal & Infant

→ Seizure caused by intestinal parasites

Convulsions in children attributed to intestinal worms. Heavy parasite loads could indeed cause seizures, malnutrition, and death in children.

Common 1700s–1900

Other

7 terms found

Bright's DiseaseOther

→ Chronic kidney disease (nephritis)

Named after Dr. Richard Bright. Refers to kidney inflammation and failure. Symptoms included swelling, high blood pressure, and protein in the urine.

Common 1830s–1920s

CankerOther

→ Oral ulcers or gangrene

Could refer to mouth ulcers, gangrenous sores, or sometimes cancerous growths. The term was used loosely for any spreading ulceration.

Common 1700s–1880s

DebilityOther

→ General weakness / failure to thrive

A vague term meaning progressive weakness. Often used for elderly people who gradually declined without a specific identifiable disease. Also used for infants who failed to thrive.

Common 1700s–1920s

InanitionOther

→ Starvation / severe malnutrition

Death from lack of food or the inability to absorb nutrition. In infants, often indicated failure to thrive or inability to nurse. In adults, could indicate cancer, poverty, or mental illness.

Common 1800s–1920s

MortificationOther

→ Gangrene

Death of body tissue, usually from infection or loss of blood supply. Could follow wounds, surgery, frostbite, or vascular disease.

Common 1700s–1880s

ScrewsOther

→ Rheumatism

Joint pain and stiffness, used colloquially for what we now call rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory joint conditions.

Common 1700s–1880s

Visitation of GodOther

→ Unexplained sudden death

Used when the cause of death was unknown or when death was attributed to divine will. On coroner's records, it sometimes indicated that no foul play was suspected.

Common 1600s–1800s

Missed the first half? Check out Part 1 of the Cause of Death Decoder for translations of respiratory and infectious diseases. →