hypoxic

[hahy-pok-sik]

adjective

1. having or caused by a very low level of oxygen.

   The hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico is caused by excess nutrients, mainly nitrogen from fertilizer runoff.

   Some brain structures are believed to be particularly vulnerable to hypoxic damage during birth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hypoxic¹

First recorded in 1940–45; hypox(ia) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )

Example Sentences

By the time she was transferred to Croydon University Hospital, she had suffered a hypoxic brain injury.

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The simulated altitude was created in what is known as hypoxic tents from which oxygen is sucked out using a generator, bringing it to levels present at high mountain altitudes.

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Adrian Ballinger, who heads another expedition team climbing Everest from the Chinese side to the north, also makes his clients undergo pre-acclimatisation training like using hypoxic tents to shorten time on the mountains.

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He was diagnosed with a hypoxic brain injury, meaning his brain was starved of oxygen, and four-limb dystonia, which can lead to uncontrolled spasms in his arms and legs.

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Her primary cause of death being given as an hypoxic brain injury, which is caused by a lack of oxygen.

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