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95
ASSIGNED CAUSES OF DEATH.
Having already (at page 24) treated of the deaths from the
"principal diseases of the zymotic class," I now proceed to deal
with the mortality from the remaining diseases in this class.
But before doing so I think it right to mention that the classification
of the causes of deaths in the "Weekly Returns" of the
Registrar-General was considerably modified at the beginning
of 1882. "The list of causes, in its new form," as the
Registrar-General stated in his Annual Summary for that year,
"is an abbreviation of the much more detailed "list which has
been drawn up for use in the 'Annual Reports of Births,
Deaths, and Marriages in England,' and which has been compiled
in general accordance with the classification of the Royal
College of Physicians. The London deaths, though they are
only classified by the abridged list in the Weekly Return, and
in the Annual Summary, will be afterwards classified by the
full list in the 'Annual Report of Births, Deaths, and
Marriages in England." Table 3 in my reports prior to 1882
was framed upon the lines of the less abridged list of the causes
of death contained in the Annual Summary, and it was the
basis, to a large extent, of some of the other Tables. As it was
not possible to accept the more abridged list contained in the
Annual Summary for 1882, and yet, at the same time, desirable
to frame Table 3 in close accordance with the more detailed list
drawn up for use in the Annual Report, the Society of Medical
Officers of Health revised certain Tables, which, at my instance,
they had framed for the sake of uniformity, some ten years
previously, and ultimately settled the forms of Tables I.— VI.
inclusive, as they appear in the Appendix. It results, therefore,
that these Tables will be found to differ to some extent from
similarly numbered Tables in the Annual Reports prior to 1882.
With this explanation I pass on to deal with the remaining
diseases in
Class 1.—Specific Febrile or Zymotic Diseases.
This class comprises six "Orders;" the first and second,
"Miasmatic" and "Diarrhœal," including the diseases already
dealt with (at page 24).