Pathology · Haematological System · Medium

Bacteraemia

Meaning: Presence of living single-celled microorganisms circulating in the bloodstream, detected by blood culture.

In practice: Blood cultures confirmed bacteraemia following the patient's untreated urinary tract infection.

Word parts

Many medical words are built from Greek and Latin parts like these, so learning a few helps you work out new terms.

Two questions on related pathology words.

Which word means: A life-threatening condition of inadequate tissue perfusion, causing organ failure.

Which word means: Self-digestion of cells by their own enzymes, typically occurring after death.

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