Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 February 8

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February 8

A disease once called "alhimenia"

In the source Thomas W. Cardozo: Fallible Black Reconstruction Leader p.204, footnote 89, there is,

Massachusetts records show that Cardozo died in Newton April 13, 1881, of "alhimenia."

What could "alhimenia" be referring to? Bob K31416 (talk) 23:50, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Looking at the relevant record, it's pretty hard to read. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 00:26, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Cause of death from death record

Are there other samples of the person's writing that might be used to help decipher the writing in the image you displayed? Can you give a link? (P.S. Well done getting that image.) Bob K31416 (talk) 02:23, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Here's the whole page from the registry. File:Thomascardoza_death_record_page.jpg It's entry 104. I just googled "Massachusetts Death Records" and it was available via one of the genealogy sites I use. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 02:41, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

But just to add one more level of confusion: This page is, I think, a collation of individual death records, because that book you cite refers to "Record of Death No. 88115, Commonwealth of Massachusetts", so even this is a transcription of whatever the doctor wrote on the death certificate. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 02:52, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Just a stab in the dark here but could it be referring to malnourishment? The word alimony was in my head so I mixed it with Alhimenia and found alimonia, which I guess could be used to refer to a person's nourishment. Maybe the document writer couldn't spell in Latin? I don't know Latin, this was just a wild thought that crossed my mind. Zindor (talk) 01:14, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Alkalemia. Abductive (reasoning) 09:42, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

That's certainly more plausible than my attempt at divination. Zindor (talk) 10:48, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

The third letter does look more like a "k" than an "h", to me. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:56, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

The closest thing in GLOSSARY OF MEDICAL TERMS USED IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES is "Asthenia... abnormal bodily weakness or feebleness; decay of strength". Not close enough though. Alansplodge (talk) 11:57, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Can we get a link to the image this is a clipping of? Comparison with letter shapes in recognizable words may help in deciphering. Are there more instances of undotted i's? Of k's with wide open legs? And so on.  --Lambiam 11:33, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

I already provided that up above. File:Thomascardoza death record page.jpg. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 15:47, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

There is albuminemia, both hypoalbuminemia and hyperalbuminemia. Don't know it that would have been diagnosable in 1881. Some sources say albuminuria was first described in 1884. 85.76.65.17 (talk) 13:17, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Perhaps some compound word ending in uremia? Bus stop (talk) 14:22, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

To me it reads as “albumenia.” The term “albuminia” or sometimes “albumenia” shows up in some Google Books results from the right time period. Just from context, it seems to mean albuminuria. —Amble (talk) 16:16, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

Lots of good ideas but so far, identification of the disease seems uncertain. From my analysis of the letters, it doesn't look like "alhimenia". The h doesn't look like other h's on the page and what is supposed to be the first i is not dotted, which the writer has done consistently with the other i's on the page. (P.S. In case anyone is curious, this is related to the article Thomas Cardozo.) Bob K31416 (talk) 23:16, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

There are several examples of "bu" in birthplaces that end with "-bury" or "-burgh". (See the parental birthplace column on the facing page.) This is a good match to the supposed "hi" or "alhimenia". So our word starts with "albu-". The rest of the letters are clear, I think, so that gives "albumenia." --Amble (talk) 01:58, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Yes, you've shown how you got the spelling correct and that goes well with your previous message that identified the disease. Bob K31416 (talk) 20:44, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

From this autopsy report in an 1845 issue of The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal it is apparent that this is the same as Bright's disease – actually more a syndrome with a range of possible causes and no longer acceptable as a diagnosis.  --Lambiam 11:57, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Good further information and support of the identification. Bob K31416 (talk) 20:44, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

• To summarize, the death record entry (#104 disease, cause of death) was not "alhimenia" but "albumenia", which has also been spelled elsewhere as "albuminia"[1]. Another name was Bright's Disease but the currently used medical term is albuminuria. Thanks everyone. Bob K31416 (talk) 23:43, 10 February 2021 (UTC)