cachexia

American  

[kuh-kek-see-uh] / kəˈkɛk si ə /

Also cachexy

noun

Pathology.

1. general ill health with emaciation, usually occurring in association with cancer or a chronic infectious disease.

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cachexia British  

/ kəˈkɛksɪə, kəˈkɛksɪ, kəˈkɛktɪk /

noun

1. a generally weakened condition of body or mind resulting from any debilitating chronic disease

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cachexia Scientific  

/ kə-kĕk′sē-ə /

1. Severe weight loss, anorexia, and general debility that occur as a result of chronic disease. Cachetic patients exhibit signs of malnutrition, including muscle wasting.

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Other Word Forms

• cachectic adjective
• cachectical adjective
• cachexic adjective

Etymology

Origin of cachexia

1535–45; < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to kak ( ós ) bad + héx ( is ) condition ( hek-, variant stem of échein to have + -sis -sis ) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

"This discovery could have implications for cancer patients who experience cachexia, or muscle wasting due to the disease and its treatments."

From Science Daily

Even if cachexia doesn’t directly kill a patient, it makes them sicker, weaker, and less able to tolerate chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

From Science Magazine

Several years earlier, other international forensics experts had already rejected the official cause of death as cachexia, or weakness and wasting of the body due to chronic illness — in his case, cancer.

From Seattle Times

He had been suffering from prostate cancer and his death certificate said he died of "cancerous cachexia" - a wasting away caused by the disease.

From BBC

It found inmates were "significantly malnourished" and dealing with a condition called cachexia, also known as wasting syndrome.

From BBC

Related Words

• affliction
• ailment
• disease
• malady
• sickness