toxemia

American  

[tok-see-mee-uh] / tɒkˈsi mi ə /

Or toxaemia

noun

Pathology.

1. blood poisoning resulting from the presence of toxins, as bacterial toxins, in the blood.

2. toxemia of pregnancy.

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toxemia Scientific  

/ tŏk-sē′mē-ə /

1. A condition in which the blood contains bacterial toxins disseminated from a local source of infection or metabolic toxins resulting from organ failure or other disease.

2. Also called blood poisoning

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Etymology

Origin of toxemia

First recorded in 1855–60; tox(o)- + -emia

Compare meaning

How does toxemia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• toxemia vs. preeclampsia

Example Sentences

Drake suspects that one goat who was suffering from pregnancy toxemia is long dead because she didn’t receive the medicine she needed the next morning.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2024

An otherwise healthy 28-year-old had died from toxemia poisoning caused by pre-eclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy that went untreated.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2023

Dr. Clarkson barges in and demands to test for toxemia.

From Time • Jan. 28, 2013

Physicians noted a toxemia which they believed due to a focal infection in her appendix.

From Time Magazine Archive

In one clinic where this method has been adopted the frequency of all kinds of toxemia, I am told, has notably diminished, and serious types are not permitted to develop.

From The Prospective Mother, a Handbook for Women During Pregnancy by Slemons, J. Morris (Josiah Morris)