Anasarca

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was described as having this condition before he died.

According to the June 2000 edition of Discover magazine, out of the most likely causes of swelling like these (liver disase, renal disease and congestive heart failure), it is likely that Mozart died from problems relating to his heart as there was an epidemic of rheumatic fever in Vienna at the time and because the other two are unlikely causes given Mozart's known history.

An`a*sar"ca (#), n. [NL., from Gr. throughout + , , flesh.] Med.

Dropsy of the subcutaneous cellular tissue; an effusion of serum into the cellular substance, occasioning a soft, pale, inelastic swelling of the skin.

© Webster 1913.