'normoxemia' originates from Neo-Latin/modern medical formation, specifically combining the elements 'normo-' (from Latin 'norma') meaning 'rule, pattern; normal', 'ox-' from 'oxygen' (from Greek 'oxys') meaning 'sharp/acid' used here for oxygen, and '-emia' from Greek 'haima' meaning 'blood'.

'normoxemia' was formed in modern medical Neo-Latin by combining the prefix 'normo-' + the element 'ox-' + the suffix '-emia' and entered English through 20th-century medical terminology as a technical term for normal blood oxygen levels.

Initially the components referred separately to 'normal' (normo-), 'oxygen' (ox-), and 'blood condition' (-emia); over time the compound came to be used specifically to denote the clinical state of having normal blood oxygen levels.