Daily AncestorIliac passion
Iliac passion was an old name for violent colic with vomiting, usually from a blocked bowel or what would later be called appendicitis.
Passion here means suffering. The illness brought severe belly pain, swelling and vomiting when the intestine stopped moving or was blocked, which doctors today call ileus.
Before the word appendicitis was coined in 1886, inflamed appendix cases went under names such as iliac passion and perityphlitis. Most such cases were fatal without surgery.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Wm. Ely, 33, M, W, Nov., Iliac passion
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Daily Ancestor. "Iliac passion." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/iliac-passion. Last checked 2026-10-01.