septicemia

American  

[sep-tuh-see-mee-uh] / ˌsɛp təˈsi mi ə /

Or septicaemia

noun

Pathology.

1. the invasion and persistence of pathogenic bacteria in the blood-stream.

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Other Word Forms

• septicaemic adjective
• septicemic adjective

Etymology

Origin of septicemia

From New Latin, dating back to 1865–70; septic, -emia

Example Sentences

There’s also a reference to septicemia, which is writer-director Emerald Fennell’s perhaps too-technical stab at explaining the nonspecific Victorian disease that afflicts one character.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

When given orally to mice with drug-resistant septicemia or pneumonia, lolamicin rescued 100% of the mice with septicemia and 70% of the mice with pneumonia, the team reported.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2024

The examination revealed the elephants had enlarged livers and spleens, as well as internal bleeding in multiple organs—signs of septicemia.

From National Geographic • Dec. 5, 2023

It can manifest as meningitis — an inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord — or septicemia, an infection of the bloodstream.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2022

It won’t be tetanus, as they inoculated us, but may be septicemia; I don’t think those pins were very clean.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein