In researching my 3x great grandfather, Susmann HIMMELREICH, I came across an entry from Familysearch.org, 

• Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 
• Montgomery Death records, 1866-1901, vol 1-4, which seem to indicate he died from a condition called "Sacalasis." I am attaching a screen grab, but regardless, I think it is a misspelling. Can anyone figure this out for me?     
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• John Anderson
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•  , Orlando, FL
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Maybe it's a misspelling of Psoriasis?

John,

I thought the word looked more like "saralasis," so I Googled the term + "medical." 

I found an article in what appears to be a medical journal that mentions the term and a substance called "saralasin" (as in "saralasin infusion").  It's something related to hypertension and kidney failure.  Unfortunately, the medical terminology is way behind my comprehension.    Perhaps a medical doctor can chime in to explain.  The article can be found at   https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/01.HYP.3.3.294

Ellen


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Researching WEISSMAN/VAYSMAN (Ostropol, Ukraine); MOROZ and ESTRIN (Shklov & Bykhov, Belarus); LESSER/LESZEROVITZ, MAIMAN, and BARNETT/BEINHART/BERNHART (Lithuania/Latvia); and ROSENSWEIG/ROSENZWEIG, KIRSCHEN, and SCHWARTZ (Botosani, Romania)

As used in this medical journal article, "saralasis" means "infusion of saralasin".  This is an old drug that was given to control blood pressure, but it had to be given intravenously (or maybe also intramuscularly, but definitely only by injection).  It is no longer made.  It probably has only a tangential relation to the cause of death, like maybe in the meaning of a word that was selected for the name of the drug.  Is there anything else written for cause of death, even in related medical conditions?

It reads "Saralasis" to me, but could well refer to saralasin. However, saralasin appears to be a normal body chemical or a drug, and would be unlikely to be a cause of death.  I'm a former medical social worker, not a doctor, so perhaps someone who is a doctor can weigh in.
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Barbara Sloan
Conway, SC

Or Sclerosis.
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Shelley Mitchell 
NYC
searching KONIGSBERG/KINIGSBERG, TERNER, MOLDAUER, SCHONFELD - Kolomyya PLATZ - DELATYN. All Galicia. 

I'm inclined to think it should have been "paralysis" where either  the source didn't know the word began with a p instead of s,  or the recorder made a mistake or misheard.   I think the 3rd letter is an r - can you compare it to other r's elsewhere in the record?

Unfortunately, there is no other citation other than that found in the Index. Your and other replies are the most logical from my point of view. Those who suggested “scoliosis” I think are far off. My original belief was something called “Achalasia,” which, when Googled, had a possible further connection to esophageal cancer. So, thank you to all.  The “saralasin” might not be the cause of death, but it might relate to an underlying condition.

I really doubt that saralasin would have been known or available back then, it is a medication that affects complex biochemistry that was also unknown.  And even though google brings up Achalasia when "saralasis" is searched, I don't see that word itself ever, so I think it is just an attempt to find a likely substitute.  

How “old” a drug is it? My ancestor died in 1894 in Dayton, Ohio. Would it have been around then!

John

It is helpful when asking for a word translation or interpretation to include the whole sentence for correct context.
My best guess is the illness has been mis-spelt from it's original which could be "Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure".

I think Pieter's best guess of 'siriasis' is the most likely. 

Not that it proves anything definitive, but, what time of the year did he die?  If it was during the warmer months, that adds a little credibility to this possibility.

Danielle

John, it looks like it dates from the late 1960s-early 1970s.  First published reference I found was 1974.

Siriasis = sunstroke.  Possible!

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Deanna M. Levinsky, Long Island, NY

He died 08 Mar 1894 in Dayton, Ohio. Doubtful that it was sunstroke......

John Anderson 

I think this word is Paralysis, spelled the wrong way - not a very useful medical diagnosis.
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Eva Lawrence
St Albans, UK.

Yes, early March does make sunstroke unlikely (but still remotely possible).  I go back to paralysis as probable.  We just won't know what caused the paralysis - polio, a stroke, possible other infections.