Bibb County GAGenWeb

Medical Terms

Civil War drawing

Ablepsia = blindness

Ague = Intermittent fever or chills

Ambustio = burn

Amputation primary = usually done within the first 24 hours of original injury

Amputation secondary = performed to improve the primary amputation

Anodynes = medication that helps with pain

Apoplexy = stroke or impairment from a brain hemorrhage

Aphtha = Thrush

Army itch = scabies

Asenthia = weakness

Bilious fever = malaria or typhoid

Black water fever = fever accompanied by dark colored urine

Bright's Disease = kidney disease

Camp State or Fever = symptoms which happened when troops were crowded together like fevers and diarrhea.

Catalepsy = seizures or trances

Catarrhus = mucus membrane inflammation

Child bed fever = infection after childbirth

Chlorosis = anemia

Cholera = infectious disease, including diarrhea, often leading to death

Colica = abdominal pain

Consumption = tuberculosis, or a general wasting away

Coryza = acute inflammation of nose and tonsils

Cow pox = a virus similar to smallpox.  Caught from the udders of cows which have blisters, caught by touch, usually localized.  Was used as a successful vaccination against smallpox.

Crop Sickness = bloated stomach

Crowd poisonings = fevers and sickness when troops were crowded together

Debility = lack of strength, a lasting symptom

Dementia = insanity, many different levels

Dengue = fever from mosquito bite

Dropsy = congestive heart failure

Dysentery =  inflammation of intestines caused by bacteria or parasites

Dyspepsia = stomach discomfort after meals

Dyspenia = trouble breathing

Erysipelas = contagious skin disease, redness and swelling of affected areas

Falling sickness = epilepsy

Flux = diarrhea

Glanders = an infectious disease that can start with horses, donkeys and mules.  Attacks the respiratory system.

Goiter = swelling of lymph gland

grippe = influenza, flu

Hemophthis = spitting up blood

Impetigo = contagious skin disease

Inflammatory Rheumatism = rheumatic fever

Lockjaw = tetanus

Malaria = transmitted by mosquitoes, chills, fever and sweating can be recurrent

Marasamus = infant wasting away from causes unknown

Miasma = poisonous vapors thought to have infected the air

Milk leg = swelling of legs of women who recently gave birth

Milk sickness = sickness from the injestion of milk, milk products or meat products from animals having the "Trembles"

Morphew = scurvy blisters

mortification = death

Neurasthenia = neurosis caused by worry, and causing indigestion, etc.

Osteomylitis = inflammation of the bone or surgical fever

Parotitis = mumps

Peritonitis = frequently the cause of death in abdominal wounds

Pleurisy = lung inflammation

pneumonia = inflammation of the lung(s)

Padogra = gout

pox = syphilis

prostration = extreme exhauistion

pyemia = pus in blood, used to be for all types of blood poisoning, usually fatal

pyrosis = heartburn

Quinsy = abscess of the tonsils

Rheumatism = inflammation of the joints, muscles

rubella = measles

scarlatina = scarlet fever

scrofula = tuberculosis of the lymph nodes

scurvey = vitamin C deficiency disease.  In civil war they tried to prevent this by having soldiers eat desiccated vegetables as ration

sleeping sickness = encephalitis

sub-laxatio = non complete dislocation

suppuration = formation of pus, thought to be a good thing in the 1860s

trench mouth = sores or ulcers at the gum line

variola = smallpox

venesection = bleeding

vulnus incisim = incisional wound

vulnus punctum = puncture wound

vulnus sclopeticum = gunshot wound

winter fever = pneumonia

yellow fever = virus which was thought to have been brought by air instead of mosquitos at the time.

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County Coordinator: Trish Elliott-Kashima

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