Daily AncestorEmpyema
Empyema meant pus collected in the chest around the lung, often after pneumonia, an injury or chest surgery.
The word comes from Greek for pus inside. Webster's 1913 says it once meant any fluid in a body cavity but was now limited to pus in the cavity of the pleura, the lining around the lungs.
IPUMS codes empyema with pleurisy for the 1850 to 1880 mortality schedules.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Thos. Pugh, 8, M, W, Empyema after pneumonia
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Empyema." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/empyema. Last checked 2026-10-10.