Ancient Greek word root · Body & Health

hem-: blood

hem- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “blood”. Learn its variants and explore 7 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: blood

Root forms: hem-, hemo-, -emia

Source word: αἷμα — blood

Word family and examples

• leukemia

  Any of a class of types of cancer affecting the blood cells, especially the white blood cells (usually with massive leukocytosis), and the blood cell–forming (hematopoietic) tissues.

• anemia

  A medical condition in which the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues is reduced, either because of too few red blood cells, or because of too little hemoglobin, resulting in pallor and fatigue.

• hemorrhage

  an escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel

• hemodialysis

  Dialysis that uses an extracorporeal apparatus to remove waste products from the blood in the case of kidney failure.

• hemophilia

  US standard spelling of haemophilia.

• hemolysis

  The destruction of red blood cells, and subsequent release of hemoglobin, at the normal end of the cell's life.

• hemostasis

  The process of keeping blood inside a damaged vessel to stop bleeding.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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