dropsy
Old term, edema
Dropsy is an old-fashioned medical term for edema—abnormal swelling caused by fluid accumulation in body tissues.
The word was common through the 19th century but has largely been replaced by more specific clinical terminology.
The physician diagnosed dropsy of the legs.
The condition often indicated heart, kidney, or liver disease.
Abdominal cavity fluid accumulation
- pulmonary edemaExcess fluid in lungs
- lymphedemaSwelling from obstructed drainage
- angioedemaSudden deep tissue swelling
- diureticUrine-promoting substance
fluid retention · water retention · swelling · puffiness · bloating · distension
Inadequate blood pumping condition
- congestive heart failureHeart too weak to pump
- congestionExcessive accumulation causing blockage
- cardiomyopathyHeart muscle disorder
- dyspneaLabored respiration condition
Renal tissue inflammation
- kidney diseaseImpaired renal function
- renal failureLoss of kidney function
- uremiaBlood toxicity from renal failure
- proteinuriaAbnormal urinary albumin levels
chronic kidney disease · dialysis · kidney transplant · fluid retention · nephrologist
Excessive surplus
- phlebotomyExtracting blood medically
- bloodlettingTherapeutic withdrawal of fluid
- tappingRepeated light striking
- trocarPointed drainage puncture tool
cachexia · consumption · apoplexy · scrofula · miasma · purgative · Victorian · Dickensian
ascites
Abdominal cavity fluid accumulation
- pulmonary edemaExcess fluid in lungs
- lymphedemaSwelling from obstructed drainage
- angioedemaSudden deep tissue swelling
diuretic · fluid retention · water retention · swelling · puffiness · bloating · distension
heart failure
Inadequate blood pumping condition
- congestive heart failureHeart too weak to pump
- congestionExcessive accumulation causing blockage
- cardiomyopathyHeart muscle disorder
dyspnea · diuretic · digitalis · shortness of breath · ankle swelling
nephritis
Renal tissue inflammation
- kidney diseaseImpaired renal function
- renal failureLoss of kidney function
- uremiaBlood toxicity from renal failure
proteinuria · chronic kidney disease · dialysis · kidney transplant · fluid retention · nephrologist
plethora
Excessive surplus
- phlebotomyExtracting blood medically
- bloodlettingTherapeutic withdrawal of fluid
- tappingRepeated light striking
trocar · cachexia · consumption · apoplexy · scrofula · miasma · purgative · Victorian · Dickensian · obsolete term
- illnessdisease, sickness, illness, ailment, disorder
- ailmentsache, aches, ailment, cold, flu
- Biblical Afflictionsleprosy, blindness, boils, plagues, pestilence
- medieval medicinebloodletting, leeching, four humors, humors, barber-surgeons
- Old Ailmentsconsumption, ague, apoplexy, phthisis, catarrh
- Old Diseasesplague, smallpox, cholera, typhus, typhoid
dropsydehydration
Excessive fluid loss
desiccation · dryness · dry out · polyuria · parched
dropsywasting
Using poorly, inefficiently
emaciation · atrophy · cachexia · shriveling · withering