Daily AncestorPerityphlitis
Perityphlitis was one of the old names for what we now call appendicitis, used before American doctor Reginald Fitz coined that word in 1886.
Webster's 1913 defines typhlitis as inflammation of the caecum, the pouch where the appendix joins the bowel, and perityphlitis as inflammation of the tissue around it. Before appendicitis was named, doctors also used side sickness and iliac passion.
In modern terms, a death from perityphlitis or typhlitis in the 1870s or 1880s was most likely a death from appendicitis.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Harry Lamb, 17, M, W, Perityphlitis
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Perityphlitis." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/perityphlitis. Last checked 2026-10-10.