Russian Vocabulary: Medical/Physical
Below is a list of terms found in Russian records. Each word is generally listed first in its modern form, followed by relevant variants, including some with archaic spelling. If the word you are looking for is not here, consider looking at the FamilySearch Wiki Russian Genealogical Word List. If you're still struggling to find the right word, it may be a person's or place name. Follow the guidelines listed under Practical Suggestions and use other resources on our site such as those found on the Names page.
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Abbreviation | Meaning | Abbreviation | Meaning |
| nom. | nominative case | masc. | masculine |
| acc. | accusative case | fem. | feminine |
| gen. | genitive case | neut. | neuter |
| prep. | prepositional case | plu. | plural |
| dat. | dative case | past | past |
| instr. | instrumental case | pres. | present |
| arch. | archaic | s.f. | short form (for adjectives) |
Russian | English | Examples |
| апоплексия | apoplexy | |
| болезнь (arch. болѣзнь) | disease | 
(arch. болѣзнь) |
| болезнь лёгких | lung disease, lung illness | |
| болница | hospital | |
| болной | sick | |
| боль | illness, sickness, pain | |
| бронхит; бронхитис | bronchitis | |
| веред | boils | |
| ветрянкя | chicken pox | |
| ветрянкя опаса | chicken pox | |
| водянка | dropsy | |
| водянка в голове | dropsy of the head (likely Hydrocephalus) | |
| волосы | hair | |
| воспаление | inflammation | |
| воспаление кишок | inflammation of the intestines | |
| воспаление легких | inflammation of the lungs | |
| воспаление мозгова | inflammation of the brain | |
| выкидыщ | miscarriage | |
| глаз | eye | |
| глухой | blind | |
| голод | hunger, starvation | |
| горячка | fever; burning ague | |
| дифтерии | diphtheria | |
| дисентерия, дизентерия | dysentery | |
| душевнобольной | mentally ill | |
| дыхавиц | breathing | |
| жар | Fever | |
| желудочной боли | stomach pain/sickness | |
| желтуха | jaundice | |
| инфлюэнция, инфлюэнсия | influenza | |
| калека | cripple | |
| коклюш | whooping cough | |
| конвульсии | convulsions | |
| кончина | demise, death | |
| корь | measles | |
| крвавка | blood loss from a bleeding wound | |
| круп | croup | |
| лёгкое | lung, light (adj.) | |
| лихорадка | fever | |
| мертворождённый | stillborn | |
| немой | dumb | |
| немощный | infirm | |
| немощь | infirmity | |
| неопределенная болезнь | undetermined disease | |
| несчастья убитъ | killed in an unfortunate accident | |
| нос | nose | |
| опухоль | tumor, swelling | |
| оспа | smallpox | |
| падучя | epilepsy | |
| паралижя | paralysis | |
| паралич | palsy | |
| пожилой | elderly | |
| покойник | the deceased (m.) | |
| покойница | the deceased (f.) | |
| покойный | deceased, late | |
| понос | diarrhea | |
| порока сердца | heart disease | |
| рак | cancer | |
| рак груди/рак в груде | breast cancer | |
| рак кожи | skin cancer | |
| рак легкого | lung cancer | |
| рак желудка/рак в желудке | stomach cancer | |
| рaзрыв сердца | broken heart | |
| рот | mouth | |
| рыжий | red-haired | |
| седой | grey-haired | |
| скарлатина | scarlet fever | |
| слепой | blind | |
| сумашедший | insane | |
| тиф | typhus | |
| туберклулёз лёгких | consumption | |
| удар | stroke | |
| удушья | difficulty breathing | |
| уродливый | deformed (masc.) | |
| утопший/утопшая | drowned | |
| хромой | lame, limping | |
| чахотка | consumption | |
| чирей | boil | |
| чума | plague | |
| шкарлатина | scarlet fever |
To view translations of specific words and phrases you may encounter in a certain document type, visit the corresponding Document Types page of this tutorial.
- Ilya Repin, Preparation for the exam, 1864, Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Repin_studying_exam.jpg : accessed 15 August 2024). This image is in the public domain.