'anoxaemia' originates from New Latin/modern medical formation combining Greek elements: 'an-' (without), 'oxys' (sharp; via 'oxygen'), and 'haima' ('blood').

'anoxaemia' was formed in the late 19th to early 20th century in medical English as a compound of Greek-derived elements; the related variant 'anoxemia' is the U.S. spelling that developed by regularizing the vowel sequence.

Initially coined to denote lack of oxygen in the blood, its meaning has remained essentially the same and is used in clinical contexts to describe low or absent blood oxygen.