You've all heard this word, relating to pain associated
with coronary heart disease. But I'll bet that few of
you know its first meaning was sore throat.

n[gi[na 7an jj4n!, an4j! n!8
n.
5L, quinsy < Gr anchonc: see ANGER6
1 any inflammatory disease of the throat, esp. one characterized by spasmodic suffocation
2 a localized spasm of pain or any condition marked by such spasms; specif., ANGINA PECTORIS
an[gi4nal or an4gi[nose# 73j! nbs#8
adj.

wofahulicodoc: where are you when I need you?

What can I add? I didn't know it either :-)

I've always thought of "angina" as meaning simply pain, the pain from obstructed coronary arteries being more precisely rendered as "angina pectoris," meaning pain in the chest.

(Note that there are numerous other things in the chest that can hurt -- particularly the esophagus, as in GERD, for Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, a regrettably common diagnosis these days as many Prilosec and Nexium users can attest. But that's another story.)

And then there are the other kinds of angina - Vincent's Angina, (a.k.a. Trench Mouth), and Ludwig's Angina (a potentially serious infection of the floor of the mouth that usually starts around an infected lower molar). As they are conditions in the mouth region they are a _little_ truer to the original sense of the word, as described in the whh's title post.