consumptio

Consumptio is a Latin noun that broadly denotes a process of wasting away or consuming. In medical Latin, it described progressive decline of the body’s tissues and strength, often emphasizing emaciation and depletion of resources.

Historical usage and meaning

From early modern Latin onward, consumptio was used to refer to chronic wasting illnesses. In European medical writings, it most commonly denoted a wasting condition later identified with tuberculosis (phthisis). Physicians described symptoms such as weight loss, fever, night sweats, coughing, and general debility, while etiological explanations evolved from humoral theories to the germ theory of disease in the 19th century. The term reflects a time when a single label encompassed a range of wasting diseases rather than a specific, defined illness.

Decline and modern context

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, consumptio gradually fell out of clinical use as tuberculosis was differentiated as a distinct disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and as broader terms like tuberculosis and wasting syndromes gained prominence. In contemporary medical language, the archaic term is rarely used outside historical or linguistic studies. Modern equivalents include tuberculosis, cachexia, or specific disease-associated wasting, depending on the underlying pathology.

In other domains, consumptio can appear in historical texts to describe the act or effect of consuming resources or goods, or in philosophical or moral discussions as a metaphor for decay or deterioration.

See also

Consumptive disease, tuberculosis (phthisis), cachexia, wasting syndrome.