Page 251 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

When asked to find a Hebrew word for diphtheria, Ben-Yehuda suggested hanneket (choking
in Hebrew), while Masie proposed askara from the word sekher for dam (a barrier against
water), since the disease caused the throat to swell up and close. Ben-Yehuda claimed that
askara better described a viral infection affecting the vocal cords, which closed the airways and
caused hoarseness and difficulty in breathing, similar to the croup. Dr Rothstein responded by
agreeing with Ben-Yehuda, as the illness produced a feeling of suffocation, while diphtheria,
he suggested, should be called karemet since one of the symptoms is the krum or tissue which
is produced in the intestines or the eyes. Masie opposed this suggestion and showed that
production of tissue is not the most significant symptom of the illness, and actually the croup
was the illness that produced membranes. In the end, askara as proposed by Dr Masie, took
root in the medical vocabulary during that period.
The creation of names for diseases abounds even in our days – for bodily diseases and social
maladies. Along with daggenet proposed by the Academy of the Hebrew Language for celiac
and zallelet for bulimia, we have sahevet (foot-dragging) and nayyeret (paperwork) to describe
bureaucratic symptoms.

‫ר מזיא‬¢‫ר מזיא ˇ משפחת איזקסון¨ צאצאי ד‬¢‫כרטיס הביקור של ד‬
Calling card of Dr Masie's clinic | Isakson family, descendants of Dr Masie

52e