As the text was written in the middle of the 19th century, a few terms are outdated and no longer in use. Consumption is what’s now called tuberculosis, a bacterial disease in which the lungs become infected and—before modern medicine—often resulted in death. In the 19th century, it was a common malady and a leading cause of death, especially for those who lived in overcrowded and unsanitary urban locations.

Convalescence is the state in which a patient in recovery exists—the stage before full health returns. Distinguishing convalescence from ill health is necessary because these two states require different modes of care. The approach to treating someone who is fully ill necessarily differs from that for treating a patient who can recover to a state in which illness is essentially not present.

Health can refer to the physical state of a patient or to overall wellbeing. It can connote physical or mental health—or both. The definition of health is broad that it can refer to anything regarding the condition of the patient. Unless paired with a negative word (e.g., “ill health”), it typically connotes a positive condition.