Historical cause of death 1700s-1900s
What did phthisis mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, phthisis meant tuberculosis of the lungs, the Greek medical term doctors wrote where families said consumption. In modern terms it usually pointed to pulmonary tuberculosis. Spellings wander wildly, from tisis to pthysis, so search the register index under every mangling you can imagine. Expect it on records mostly 1700s-1900s.
Also written on records as: phthisis pulmonalis, consumption, tubercular phthisis.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is phthisis called today?+
Pulmonary tuberculosis, broadly speaking. Doctors of the period diagnosed without laboratory tests, so one label often covered several conditions we would now separate. This page explains historical record language and is not medical advice.
How was phthisis written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote phthisis pulmonalis, consumption, and tubercular phthisis. Spelling wandered from register to register, so check every variant before you decide a record is missing or wrong.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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