Alphabetical List: Causes of Death
Apoplexy- another word for a stroke.
Arteriosclerosis- a disease affecting the arterial blood vessels. It is a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the deposition of lipoproteins (plasma proteins that carry cholesterol and triglycerides.) It is commonly referred to as a "hardening" or "furring" of the arteries, and is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries.
Bright's Disease- Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully-understood etiologies.
Carbolic Acid poisoning- causes nausea or vomiting, burning of the esophagus, rapid heart rate, convulsions, or coma. Carbolic acid was used as an antiseptic in the 1900s.
Cardiac asthma- refers to wheezing associated with congestive heart failure. It is not true asthma.
Consumption- Tuberculosis of the lungs.
Coronary occlusion- the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack.
Croup- an infectious disease of the respiratory system most commonly found in children.
Delerium Tremens- also known as "the shakes," Delerium Tremens is an acute condition caused by sudden withdrawal from alcohol or barbiturates when a dependency or habitual usage has ccured for a prolonged period of time.
Dropsy- swelling of soft tissue due to the accumulation of water in the body. Today this condition is called edema as a result of congestive heart failure.
Elcampsia- a serious complication of labor characterized by convulsions. AL 11/1/07
Inanition- exhaustion, as from lack of nourishment or vitality.
Laudanum poisoning- can cause rapid heartbeat and skin rashes; an overdose can cause death.
Lobar Pneumonia- lung pneumonia from streptococcus bacteria affecting one or more lobes of the lung. This disease is commonly known today as Pneumococcal Pneumonia or Bronchial Pneumonia.
Mercury (II) chloride- a poisonous white soluble crystalline salt of mercury (also called mercuric chloride, corrosive sublimate or bichloride of mercury). It was formerly used in insecticides, batteries, as an antiseptic or disinfectant, a preservative, in metallurgy and as a photographic fixative. In addition it is soluble in water, which would make it a very accessible toxin in this period.
Neuralgia-a pain that follows the path of a specific nerve. Neuralgia is most common in elderly persons, but it may occur at any age.
Overdose- Many cases of accidental overdose occurred with opium or opiod-based products. In several cases the victim ingested anywhere from one ounce to two ounces of pure opium or derivatives thereof, and had no troubles attaining lethal doses of these substances from local druggists.
Palsy- a disease of the neurological system. Today there are several different types of palsy.
Peritonitis- serious infection characterized by swelling and tenderness in the lower abdominal region.
Pleurisy-also listed as "Pleuritic Chest Pains," pleurisy is cause by swelling and irritation of the membrane surrounding the lungs. It is generally associated with pneumonia, TB, lupus, and trauma to the chest region. It is a strong and sudden pain that occurs with intake of a deep breath, and makes breathing extremely difficult when it is an advanced condition.
Ptomaine - a former name for a supposed group of chemical substances that were theorized to cause food poisoning. The word "ptomaine" is no longer used scientifically. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptomaine#Ptomaine.)
Rheumatism- an older term used to describe any of a number of painful conditions of muscles, tendons, joints, and bones.
Rickets- caused by a Vitamin D deficiency, which results in fractures and deformity. This condition is not always lethal.
Septicemia- an illness resulting from a localized infection that travels through the bloodstream to the rest of the body.
Spasms and Convulsions- could be a legitimate cause of death, but could be related to another cause of death. One cannot tell the exact cause of death, though.
Summer Complaint- a popular term for any diarrheal disorder occurring in the summer, especially when produced by heat and indigestion (often found this present in infants and young toddlers.)
Typhoid Fever- an infectious, often fatal, febrile disease, usually of the summer months, characterized by intestinal inflammation and ulceration, caused by the typhoid bacillus, which is usually introduced with food or drink.
I have noticed that in particularly violent accidents or mishaps, the cause of death is usually attributed to shock. The primary incident and its injuries (usually something like: fall of slate, lamp exploded, struck by train, run over by streetcar, etc.) becomes immediately secondary to the effects of shock. I had heard rumors of this before, but had yet to see it verified until reading the masses of industrial and electric death records from this era.
It is interesting to see several alcohol related deaths during the prohibition years. You will come across a handful per box; at least this has been the case for the files I have been working with in the mid-1920s.
MG 07 Sept 2007
A considerate number of deaths were caused by people leaving the pilot on their stove on; the house burned down as a result, killing the people inside. The cause was probably just people forgetting to turn off their stove since the technology was used commercially before the 1920s.
CL 09 Sept 2007
I found an interesting and rather horrible way die which I thought was not possible. The cause of death was fecal vomiting. This actually is possible. When there is an intestinal blockage, fecal matter will be forced back into the stomach and then eventually be expelled from the mouth. Constipation is said to last weeks before this happens so be warned.
CL 15 Sept 2007
I added a new cause of death that has been popping up in the files of October 1927. The illness is ptomaine, essentially a version of food poisoning. I was curious as to what the disease was in particular because it always involved a death from eating meat. It was interesting to read that true food poisoning is caused by contamination of natural toxins in the food we eat, not food that has spoiled. The illness we get from food that has spoiled is correctly called a food infection. The earliest piece of food regulation legislation I could find was the Vaccine Act of 1813. In the late 19th century, the Department of Agriculture conducted studies on food safety in the United States, which influenced Theodore Roosevelt to create the Food and Drugs Act in 1906, a precursor to the FDA. This act punished those found guilty of adding questionable preservatives, fillers, and colorings to the food they produced/sold. These powers were in the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Chemistry until the creation of the Food, Drug, and Insecticide Organization in 1927. The group changed its name to the Food and Drug Administration in 1930. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration#History
MG 18 Sept 2007
I am beginning to notice more people dying of Addison's disease during the late 1920s. Addison's disease is a hormone deficiency (not enough hormone) caused by damage to the outer layer of the adrenal gland (the part known as the adrenal cortex).The adrenal glands are small hormone-secreting organs located on top of each kidney. They consist of the outer portion (called the cortex) and the inner portion (called the medulla). The cortex produces 3 types of hormones: glucocorticoid hormones, mineralocorticoid hormones, and sex hormones. For more information the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia is helpful.
AL 27 Sept 2007
Having seen two cases of death by bichloride of mercury I have added it as a cause of death. I listed it as a suicide toxin because it could be used for that (it was very lethal) and one of the two cases was called a suicide. It was also used to cause abortions.
BB 09 Oct 2007
The causes of neuralgia are varied. Chemical irritation, inflammation, trauma (including surgery), compression of nerves by nearby structures (for instance, tumors), and infections may all lead to neuralgia. In many cases, however, the cause is unknown.
I found a case in which the victim’s death was caused by peritonitis following perforated jejunum due to a car accident. I have never heard of jejunum before. Dictionary.com defines it as "the middle portion of the small intestine, between the duodenum and the ileum.”
AL 16 Oct 2007
The files I processed in the year 1943 had many deaths in which the cause was coronary occlusions. Coronary occlusions cause heart attacks.
CL 10 Nov 2007
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