Any ideas on this cause of death?

[Jane_Adams]

Received Death Certificate today. Person died in 1862 at the age of 35, the cause of death is listed as:

"Paraplegia
9 weeks
Serous
Effusion
Certified"


I know that paraplegia is lower limb paralysis, and that serous effusion is some kind of some kind of internal fluid related 'seepage'.

What I'm not sure about is how they are connected. I have done a few google searches which suggest that serous effusion can be related to TB, but not sure where the paraplegia fits in.

I'm also not sure what the 9 weeks relates to, but am assuming its probably that she had the condition for 9 weeks prior to death?

Any ideas?

[arthurk]

Some of my death certificates have a length of time and/or multiple causes on them. It looks to me as though the length of time always follows the item it relates to, so in this case the person would have suffered from paraplegia for 9 weeks.

Where more than one condition is given, it seems that mid-20th century certificates list the immediate cause of death first, and other conditions later. Mid-19th century ones seem to give conditions more in the order in which they arose - the longest-standing ones first. Someone might know if there were different instructions at different times as to how this item should be completed - I'm afraid I don't (and I can't help with medical terminology either).

Arthur

[Wirral]

TB can also affect the bones, causing paralysis. One of the main complications of TB is pleural effusion (collection of fluid between the lungs & the chest wall). So it looks like TB after all. :(
Or it could have been cancer, such as lung cancer, as that can also cause paralysis if it spreads to the spine.

[sircher]

Another explanation might be a tumour in the brain, sometimes this can cause a serous efussion via the ear. In earlier times this might have been thought to be an ear infection and the seriouness not understood.

Susan