hyperaemia
|hy-pe-rae-mi-a|
🇺🇸
/ˌhaɪpəˈriːmiə/
🇬🇧
/ˌhaɪpərəˈmiːə/
excess blood in tissue
Etymology
'hyperaemia' originates from New Latin/modern medical formation, ultimately from Greek, specifically the word 'hyperhaima', where 'hyper-' meant 'over, excessive' and 'haima' meant 'blood'.
'hyperaemia' entered English via New Latin/late 19th-century medical usage from Greek 'hyperhaima' (ὑπέρ + αἷμα) and through formations such as Latin/Neo-Latin 'hyperaemia' and English variant 'hyperemia'.
Initially, it specifically described an excess of blood (literally 'over-blood'); over time it has retained that core meaning but has been applied in clinical contexts to distinguish active (arterial) hyperaemia from passive congestion.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an excess of blood in the vessels supplying an organ or other part of the body; often due to increased arterial inflow (active hyperaemia).
The surgeon observed marked hyperaemia around the incision site.
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Noun 2
the accumulation or stagnation of venous blood in a tissue or organ (passive hyperaemia or congestion), sometimes used broadly for any excessive local blood volume.
Histological sections showed venous congestion and hyperaemia of the lung tissue.
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Last updated: 2025/09/23 20:35