The following is a list of deprecated terms for diseases.
| Obsolete term | Preferred term | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| [1] | Also a general term for internal bleeding in a specific organ. | ||
| Bends | Referred to the associated musculoskeletal issues of decompression illness. | ||
| Bilious remitting fever | Used in reference to a 1780 outbreak in Philadelphia. | ||
| Break-bone fever | [2] | Used in reference to a 1780 outbreak in Philadelphia. | |
| Break-heart fever | |||
| Chokes | Referred to the associated breathing issues of decompression illness. | ||
| Consumption | [3] | So-called due to the wasting that occurs in the late stages of infection. | |
| Dandy fever | [4] | A reference to the mincing walk adopted by those affected. | |
| Dropsy | [5] | ||
| Dum-dum fever | [6] | The term is derived from the city of Dum Dum, the site of an outbreak. | |
| English disease | [7] | So named due to its prevalence in English slums. | |
| French disease | Used as an ethnic slur against the French. | ||
| Front-street fever | Used in reference to a 1780 outbreak in Philadelphia. | ||
| Gleet | [8] | Usually refers to gonorrhea that is in semi-remission. | |
| Great pox | [9] | Used as a term of comparison to smallpox. | |
| Grippe | [10] | From the French. | |
| King's evil | [11] | From the belief that the disease could be cured by a royal touch. | |
| Lockjaw | [12] | The term is sometimes used as a synonym for tetanus, which usually first manifests as trismus. | |
| Monkeypox | [13] | ||
| Muerto Canyon disease | [14] | Named for the area where it was initially identified. "Four Corners disease" is likewise deprecated. | |
| Norwalk virus | [15] | Named after the town of Norwalk, Ohio, where the disease was first distinctly identified. | |
| Phthisis | From the Greek word for consumption. | ||
| Quinsy | [16] | From the French term esquinancie. | |
| Saint Vitus Dance | [17] | Named for Saint Vitus the Martyr | |
| Spanish fever | [18] | Used in reference to the 1918 flu pandemic. | |
| Squinsy | From the French term esquinancie. | ||
| Staggers | [19] | Referred to the associated neurological issues of decompression illness. | |
| Undulant fever | [20] | The name is a reference to the rising and falling of the patient's temperature. | |
| White Plague | The name refers to the pallor of patients with "consumption" (severe tuberculosis). | ||
| Woolsorter's disease | [21] | Refers to people who tended to contract the disease (from the sheep) | |
| 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) | Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) | [22] | Provisional name for COVID-19. |