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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

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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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