Cause of Death Decoder


Just as we in the field of genealogy have a friend in Steve Morse and the “One-Step” pages that facilitate effective searches of passenger lists, censuses, vital records, and more, so the scientific, technical, and medical research community have a friend in Wolfbane Cybernetic, a Scotland-based tech firm providing “modern solutions to modern problems.” One of their solutions solves a recurring genealogical problem: understanding the numeric diagnosis codes written in the cause of death sections of death certificates.

Maybe the digital image isn’t quite clear enough to read the words. Maybe the hard copy is damaged. Maybe the doctor’s handwriting is essentially illegible. Maybe the word “flux” is recognizable, but you have no idea what that might mean or refer to. The (usually) more readable numerical code can help.

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