Daily AncestorPhlegmasia alba dolens
Phlegmasia alba dolens was the medical name for milk leg: a painful, white, swollen leg from a deep vein clot, usually after childbirth.
Webster's 1913 gives phlegmasia as an inflammation and phlegmasia dolens as milk leg, and Wikipedia ties alba to the leg's white look. It belongs to the deep vein thrombosis group and was historically seen during pregnancy and in new mothers.
IPUMS puts puerperal phlegmasia alba dolens in one code with puerperal phlebitis, embolism and sudden death.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Mrs. Ruth Ann Kepner, 29, F, W, May, Phlegmasia alba dolens
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Phlegmasia alba dolens." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/phlegmasia-alba-dolens. Last checked 2026-10-12.