Asthma
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Asthma. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a chronic shortness of breath, from whatever cause it may arise. It is most common in persons possessing the nervous temperament. After some precursory symptoms, it commences, often at night, with a paroxysm in which there is a great tightness and constriction of the chest. It is produced by a morbid contraction of the bronchial muscles. There are two leading varieties of the disease , a nervous and a catarrhal, the former of pure sympathetic and symptomatic forms, and the latter latent, humeral and mucous chronic subvarieties, besides an acute congestive, and an acute catarrhal, form. ASTI (as'tē) (Asta Pompeia), a city of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Alessandria, on the left bank of the Tanaro, 35 miles E. S. E. of Turin by rail. It has a large Gothic cathedral, which was completed about 1348, and a royal college. There is carried on a considerable trade in silk and woolen fabrics, hats, leather, and agricultural produce. Asti spumante, a sparkling wine, is highly esteemed . The city is of high antiquity, having been famous for its pottery before its capture by the Gauls in 400 b. c. On the occasion of its being again taken and destroyed in an irruption irruption of the Gauls, it was rebuilt by Pompey, and received the name of Asta Pompeia. In the Middle Ages, Asti was one of the most powerful republics of upper Italy . It was captured and burned by the Emperor Frederick I. in 1155, and, after a series of vicissitudes, came into the possession of the Visconti of Naples; by them it was ceded to the French, in whose hands it remained till the middle of the 16th century, when the Dukes of Savoy acquired it. Alfieri was born here, 1749. Pop . about 45,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a disorder of the breathing apparatus. It is a nervous disease, resulting in a spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the bronchial tubes. When the muscles contract, the tubes are so nearly closed as to interfere with the process of breathing, and produce a characteristic wheezing noise. The shortness of breath and violent coughing are very distressing and are difficult to relieve. Rest and the inhaled smoke of cubebs are recommended by physicians. See Disease 2026 Editor's Note: Asthma is no longer thought a 'nervous disease' but a chronic inflammation of the airways, often allergic — and its treatment was transformed by the pressurized inhaler , introduced in 1956, which delivers relief in seconds. Rates have climbed with urban air pollution and modern life, making it one of the commonest childhood conditions. (Ed: BR 2026-06-16)