Daily AncestorInflammation of the brain
Inflammation of the brain, or phrenitis, was an old diagnosis for fever with delirium or raving, which today would usually be meningitis or encephalitis.
Doctors since ancient Greece described phrenitis as fever with confusion and raving. In the 1800s the English phrase inflammation of the brain was used for the same picture, without the tools to tell one cause from another.
Many such deaths were probably meningitis, encephalitis or a severe infection reaching the brain. The term often appears for children.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Mary Kent, 6, F, W, March, Inflammation of brain, 8 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Inflammation of the brain." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/inflammation-of-the-brain. Last checked 2026-10-01.