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State hospitals and asylums generated extensive records that may include medical terminology, legal status descriptions, and administrative classifications. This glossary defines commonly encountered terms found in admission registers, commitment papers, patient case files, and institutional reports.
| Term | Definition |
| Admission Register | Log recording entry of patients into institution. |
| Attending Physician | Doctor responsible for patient’s care. |
| Board of Visitors | Oversight body supervising institution operations. |
| Case File | Individual patient record documenting treatment and status. |
| Commitment | Legal process authorizing institutional confinement. |
| Commitment Order | Court directive requiring admission to institution. |
| Conservator | Person appointed to manage patient’s affairs. |
| Custodial Care | Long-term supervision without curative treatment. |
| Discharge | Release of patient from institution. |
| Epileptic Ward | Specialized unit for epilepsy patients. |
| Feebleminded | Historical term for intellectual disability. |
| Inmate | Term historically used for institutional resident. |
| Insane | Historical legal designation for mental illness. |
| Keeper | Early term for institutional attendant. |
| Lunacy Commission | Government body overseeing mental institutions. |
| Lunatic | Archaic term for person deemed mentally ill. |
| Maintenance Account | Record of cost for patient care. |
| Medical Superintendent | Chief physician overseeing facility. |
| Melancholia | Historical term for severe depression. |
| Moral Treatment | 19th-century therapeutic philosophy emphasizing routine and discipline. |
| Order Book | Record of institutional administrative decisions. |
| Overcrowding Report | Institutional report noting capacity issues. |
| Parole | Conditional release from institution. |
| Patient Ledger | Financial record of patient expenses. |
| Pauper Patient | Individual supported by county funds. |
| Private Patient | Individual paying for own institutional care. |
| Psychosis | Severe mental disorder diagnosis. |
| Reception Ward | Initial intake unit for new patients. |
| Register of Patients | Official list of admitted individuals. |
| Restraint | Mechanical or physical control method. |
| Restoration | Legal declaration of regained competency. |
| Return | Readmission after discharge. |
| Seclusion | Isolation of patient for safety or discipline. |
| Sheriff’s Transport | Law enforcement delivery of committed person. |
| State Board of Health | Agency overseeing public health institutions. |
| Superintendent’s Report | Annual summary of institutional operations. |
| Temporary Commitment | Short-term confinement pending evaluation. |
| Transfer | Movement of patient between facilities. |
| Trustee Patient | Patient assigned limited work privileges. |
| Ward | Designated housing section within facility. |
| Work Therapy | Labor assigned as part of treatment. |
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