Asthma

Historical definition

Asthma is a disease of the lungs causing difficulty in breathing.

Meaning

The definition gives an affected part and a principal effect. Those two features explain its use within the dictionary, but they do not establish that every historical case corresponds to one modern diagnostic category. A modern reader recognizes the name easily; the apparent familiarity makes attention to the historical description especially important.

If a passage adds causes, signs or remedies, those are further claims belonging to that author. The dictionary’s short gloss should not be enlarged by assuming them. It helps identify the subject of an argument without validating a particular treatment or retrospectively diagnosing a patient.