-haemia

Chiefly British.

1. variant of -hemia:

   leukocythaemia.

-haemia

combining form

1. See -aemia
   variants of -aemia

Words That Use -haemia

What does -haemia mean?

The combining form -haemia is used like a suffix to denote an abnormal blood condition, especially the presence of a certain kind of substance in the blood that causes disease. It is used in many medical terms, especially in pathology.

The form -haemia ultimately comes from the Greek haîma, meaning “blood.” The combining form -aemia is a variant of -emia and is chiefly used in British English.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use –emia article.

Historically, -haemia has been written as -hæmia, featuring a ligature of the a and e.

The Greek root haîma is the same Greek root that gives us the combining form hemo- meaning “blood,” as in hemoblast. Variants of hemo- (and closely related to -haemia) are haem-, haema-, haemo-, haemat-, haemato-, hem-, hema-, hemat-, and hemato-. Learn more about their specific applications at our Words That Use articles for the forms.

Examples of -haemia

Microcythaemia, also known as microcytosis, involves an abnormal increase in microcytes, which are abnormally small red blood cells.

The microcyt- part of the words refers to microcytes. The -haemia part of the word refers to a blood condition. Microcythemia has a literal sense of “a blood condition concerning small red blood cells.”

What are some words that use the combining form -haemia?

• microcythaemia
• oligocythaemia
• polycythaemia
• thrombocythaemia

What are some other forms that -haemia may be commonly confused with?

• -phony
• chemi-
• hemi-
• homeo-

Other words may end in the letters -emia, such as aphemia and Bohemia, but are not using -emia or its variants as a combining form to denote a blood condition. Learn their meanings and origins at our entries for the words.

Break it down!

A thrombocyte is also known as a platelet, a type of blood cell that is important for clotting blood.

Based on the meaning of thrombocyte and -haemia, what does the medical condition thrombocythaemia involve?