puerperal fever

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. a systemic bacterial infection of the endometrium characterized by fever, rapid heartbeat, uterine tenderness, and malodorous discharge, chiefly occurring in women after childbirth, usually as the result of unsterile obstetric procedures.

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puerperal fever British  

noun

1. a serious, formerly widespread, form of blood poisoning caused by infection contracted during childbirth

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Etymology

Origin of puerperal fever

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Semmelweis, once described as a “savior of mothers,” discovered that cases of puerperal fever could be significantly cut by washing hands before surgery.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2018

Tolstoy’s wife Sofia almost died when she contracted puerperal fever after her fifth delivery, but he impregnated her again and again.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2016

Dr. Holmes was noted professionally for his researches into puerperal fever.

From Time Magazine Archive

If women were not rendered barren by the bacterium, there were always the risks of childbirth and puerperal fever.

From Time Magazine Archive

Braun von Fernwald61 in sixteen years reports 61,949 confinements in the vast Maternity Hospital of Vienna, with 825 deaths from puerperal fever, or 1.3 per cent.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various