Family Historian User Group

Hello all,
Can you help me decipher the last word on this cause of death?
I know the first words are Epilepsy and cerebral, but not sure of the last one.

He died in hospital and I have heard some tales of how he ended up there, but rather than bias you in the deciphering I'll let you all have a go at it first.

Ruth



ID:2247

Looks like cerebral oedema.

Yep thats what I thought as well. Wikipedia discribes it as is an excess accumulation of water in the intra- and/or extracellular spaces of the brain. Edema can occur as the result of many things, including head injury, allergic reaction, stroke, acute liver disease, cardiac arrest or from the lack of proper altitude acclimatization

Thanks all,

I think you're right about oedema. I just couldn't quite decide as there's a strange blob above the m, which made me think the letter before it might be an i
And I also couldn't decide whether the second letter was an e or a c, but I'd failed to find any other likely word in the medical dictionaries

The family tale is that he ended up in hospital after he was attacked by his adult step-sons, and fell to the ground injuring his head. So that would fit in with him having fluid with the swelling, which then brought on a fatal fit. This all happened in 1921.
I get the impression that his second wife's family were generally violent, as  his children from his first marriage were taken away from their stepmother after she was found to be beating them. Also her first husband came to a rather suspicious end too!

Ruth

I think it is oedema, which is an excess of fluid. See http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/archaicmedicalterms.htm
Hope this helps.
John