Well into the nineteenth century, infectious diseases were the most frequent causes of death. Infant mortality was high, and knowledge of specific disease syndromes was limited. As a result of this limited medical knowledge, the information on death certificates, as interesting as it is to family historians, may be puzzling, if not downright misleading.

In this two-part series on disease, the first part will define basic medical terminology and identify some of the archaic terms early officials used in recording causes of death. The second part of the series will identify critical developments in the history of medicine. The goal of the series is to enable the family historian to better understand and interpret terminology found on older death certificates.

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