oligemia
|o-li-ge-mi-a|
🇺🇸
/ˌoʊlɪˈdʒiːmiə/
🇬🇧
/ˌɒlɪˈdʒiːmiə/
reduced blood volume or flow
Etymology
'oligemia' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'olígos' and 'haîma', where 'olígos' meant 'few, scanty' and 'haîma' meant 'blood'.
'olígos' + 'haîma' passed into Late Latin/New Latin medical formation as 'oligaemia'/'olig(a)emia' and eventually became the modern English medical term 'oligemia'.
Initially it meant 'a small amount of blood', but over time it evolved into the medical sense of 'reduced blood volume or reduced regional blood flow'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a reduction in the volume of blood in the circulatory system or in a specific region of the body; decreased blood volume.
The patient showed signs of systemic oligemia after severe dehydration.
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Noun 2
in radiology/neuroimaging, a localized decrease in blood flow or blood volume (e.g., cerebral oligemia), often indicating reduced perfusion but not necessarily infarction.
CT perfusion demonstrated oligemia in the left frontal lobe, suggesting decreased perfusion without established infarct.
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Last updated: 2025/08/16 22:20