-hemia

American  

1. variant of -emia after p, t, k: leucocythemia.

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-hemia British  

combining form

1. US variant of -aemia

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Usage

What does -hemia mean? The combining form -hemia 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 -hemia ultimately comes from the Greek haîma, meaning “blood.” The form -hemia is a variant of -emia combined words or word elements ending with -p, -t, or -k. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -emia article. The spelling -haemia, as in polycythaemia, is a chiefly British English variant of -hemia. 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 -hemia) 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.