Pathology · Haematological System · Hard
Parasitaemia
Meaning: Presence of blood-borne organisms such as malarial Plasmodium, often measured as a percentage of infected red cells.
In practice: The blood film showed high-level parasitaemia in the patient with falciparum malaria.
Word parts
- para- means beside or near
- -aemia means a condition of the blood
Many medical words are built from Greek and Latin parts like these, so learning a few helps you work out new terms.
Quick check
Two questions on related pathology words.
Which word means: Presence of parasites such as lice, mites or worms living on or in the body.
Answer: Infestation
Which word means: Chalky deposit of urate crystals in soft tissue seen in chronic gout.
Answer: Tophus
Words like parasitaemia come up in the daily game
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