'anoxemia' originates from New Latin, via Greek elements, specifically the Greek 'an-' + 'oxys' + 'haima', where 'an-' meant 'without', 'oxys' referred (by extension) to 'oxygen/sharp', and 'haima' meant 'blood'.

'anoxemia' changed from New Latin/Modern Latin formation 'anoxaemia' (formed from Greek elements) and entered modern medical English as 'anoxaemia' or the simplified spelling 'anoxemia'.

Initially it meant literally 'blood without oxygen'; over time it has been used in medical contexts to denote a severe deficiency or absence of oxygen in the blood (often distinguished from milder 'hypoxemia').