leukemia

[loo-kee-mee-uh]

noun Pathology.

any of several cancers of the bone marrow that prevent the normal manufacture of red and white blood cells and platelets, resulting in anemia, increased susceptibility to infection, and impaired blood clotting.

Also leucemia.

Origin of leukemia

1850–55; earlier leuchaemia < German Leukämie (1848). See leuco-, -emia

Related formsleu·ke·mic, adjectivean·ti·leu·ke·mic, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for leukemia

Contemporary Examples of leukemia

Sadly, though she folded more than 1,000 cranes, she died of leukemia on October 25, 1955.
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation
Clifton Truman Daniel
August 5, 2014
Last year the FDA approved its use for another kind of leukemia that affects children.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer
ProPublica
April 23, 2014
Now Kenneth was Allie; his "heart troubles" were leukemia; he died at 11, not 12.
What the Leaked J.D. Salinger Stories Reveal About the Author
Andrew Romano
November 30, 2013
Jack had another daughter who died of leukemia in 1977 when she was 14 years old.
Jack Germond, a Reporter From Another Time
Eleanor Clift
August 14, 2013
Kekua, the story went, died of leukemia; she was diagnosed with the disease after a nasty car accident.
Listen Here: Voicemails From Manti Te’o’s ‘Girlfriend’
Lizzie Crocker
January 24, 2013

Historical Examples of leukemia

It occurs in well-marked cases of pernicious anemia and leukemia, and, much less commonly, in very severe symptomatic anemias.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis
James Campbell Todd
They occur most abundantly in malaria, leukemia, and pernicious anemia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis
James Campbell Todd
Pseudoleukemia, because of its clinical similarity to lymphatic leukemia, is generally described along with leukemia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis
James Campbell Todd
Pathologically, normoblasts occur in severe symptomatic anemia, leukemia, and pernicious anemia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis
James Campbell Todd

Word Origin and History for leukemia

1851, on model of German Leukämie (1848), coined by R. Virchow from Greek leukos "clear, white" (cognate with Gothic liuhaþ, Old English leoht "light;" see light (n.)) + haima "blood" (see -emia).

Medicine definitions for leukemia

leukemia

[lōō-kē′mē-ə]

n.

Any of various acute or chronic neoplastic diseases of the bone marrow in which unrestrained proliferation of white blood cells occurs and which is usually accompanied by anemia, impaired blood clotting, and enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.

Related formsleu•ke′mic adj.

Science definitions for leukemia

leukemia

[lōō-kē′mē-ə]

Any of various acute or chronic neoplastic diseases of the bone marrow in which unrestrained proliferation of white blood cells occurs, usually accompanied by anemia, impaired blood clotting, and enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. Certain viruses, genetic defects, chemicals, and ionizing radiation, are associated with an increased risk of leukemia, which is classified according to the cellular maturity of the involved white blood cells.

Culture definitions for leukemia

leukemia

[(looh-kee-mee-uh)]

A kind of cancer in which the number of white blood cells in the blood greatly increases. Leukemia usually spreads to the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, and other areas of the body, causing destruction of tissues and often resulting in death.