Medical Glossary
Glossary of Medical Terms from Isham's Confessions
compiled by Michelle DiMeo and Rebecca Laroche
Ague
severe fever, characterised by shaking, shivering and sweating
Almon[d]s in the throat
tonsils
Almond Milk
medical preparation made from sweet blanched almonds and water
Bitonie (Betony)
a herb renowned for diverse medical benefits
Blething (Bleeding)
a 'fit of bleeding' refers to inordinate menstruation
Blood-letting
Galenic doctrine used to correct an imbalance in the humours by releasing accumulations of a particular humour. There are various theories as to when, where, and how blood-letting should occur
Borage
a medicinal herb, used to comfort the heart and stimulate happiness
Coffe (Cough) of the Lungs
see Consumption
Coldness of stomach
possibly a form of indigestion, as the herbs used to cure this ailment were the same as those used to aid digestion
Consumtion (consumption, or tuberculosis)
most common symptoms affect the lungs, including coughing and difficulty in breathing
Cordial
a restorative medicine
Decoction
a compound made from a medical substance (which may be derived from plants, animals or minerals) which is boiled in a liquor until the substance dissolves in it
Elecampan (Elecampane)
a medicinal herb used as a tonic and stimulant
Fit
a sudden attack of a recurring illness
Flux
an abnormal amount of flowing of a substance
Foal-foot (also known as Colts-foot, or Horse-foot)
a herb, used as a cough suppressant
Gargarism
a medical wash that should be gargled, not swallowed
Gelop (Julep)
a sweet drink, sometimes medicinal itself and sometimes used to facilitate medical treatment
Glister a medicine injected into the anus to empty bowels; a suppository
Greene Sickness
an anaemic disease that produces a pale or 'green' tint to the complexion, which usually occurs in young women at the age of puberty
Griping
contractions in the bowels
Humours
medical belief that the body is comprised of four elements in nature, each of which has a corresponding bodily fluid. Imbalances can affect temperament and cause illness. The four humours are as follows: 1) Fire / Hot and Dry / Yellow Bile / Choleric; 2) Air / Hot and Moist / Blood / Sanguine; 3) Earth / Cold and Dry / Black Bile / Melancholic; 4) Water / Cold and Moist / Phlegm / Phlegmatic
Lax
a laxative medicine, used to incite bowel movements
Margerome (Marjoram)
medicinal herb
Melancholy
combination of mental and physical ailments, including sadness, introversion, thinness and paleness. It was thought to have been caused by an excess of black bile (the melancholic humour), or astrological influences such as being born under the planet Saturn
Mistiness of the eyes
a dimness or haziness of eyesight
Orring Pilles (Orange Peels)
an ingredient used in many medical preparations, usually dried and beaten, or infused in water
Palsie (Palsy)
paralysis of part of the body, often with shaking
Pilles
a drug mixed with an inactive substance which was rolled into a small spherical shape and should be swallowed by mouth; similar to modern solid tablets that are taken as oral medication
Physic
medicine, or a medical substance
Plaster
an adhesive liquid or solid which is either spread onto a bandage or directly onto the skin, at which point it solidifies and protects a wound; a precursor to modern plasters, or Band-Aids
Posit (Posset)
a medicinal drink, made from hot milk curdled with liquor and flavoured with herbs and spices
Potion
a liquid taken orally; though sometimes in reference to magical liquids, the term was also used for medicinal liquid compounds, as it is used here
Purpels (Purples)
purple spots, may occur on their own or as result of plague
Root
the parts of a plant that grow below the ground
Rume (Rheum)
mucous
Salve
an ointment used to treat wounds
Sasafrus (Sassafras)
tree commonly called 'Ague Tree', since it was used to treat the ague. It grew in Spain, France, and North America, and its roots and bark were used for medicine
Saturday
in astrological theories, Saturday was governed by Saturn, the cold and dry planet sometimes called "The Star of Melancholy". It could shape a melancholic temperament in a person born under its influence
The Sickness
refers to the plague, an epidemic disease primarily found in densely populated zones spread by rodents, primarily rats. England suffered from a succession of plagues from the 15th through 17th centuries, ending with the great plague of London in 1665
Spelne (Spleen)
the herb spleenwort, meant to alleviate problems of the spleen, which is the locus of melancholy (see Melancholy)
Strong water
any alcoholic beverage
Swallowes
probably an oil made from the herb swallowwort, which purportedly relieved cramps; though possibly an oil made from live swallows
Swownd
to swoon, or to faint; as in a fainting fit
Syrup
a thick sweet liquid; many recipes ask for syrup to be mixed with another ingredient (e.g. roses or almonds) to produce an oral medicine
Vomits
a medicine used to stimulate vomiting, thought to cleanse the body of impurities
Wind collick
severe cramping in the bowels
Womans travell (travail)
labour pains
Bibliography
Gerard, John. The Herbal, or General History of Plants, London, 1663
McGrew, Roderick E. and Margaret P. McGrew, Encyclopedia of Medical
History, London: Macmillan, 1985
Oxford English Dictionary. www.oed.com