toxaemia Definition

toxaemia
toxemia
noun

1. medicine.
A condition in which there are toxic substances present in the bloodstream, eg of the kind released from a local site of bacterial infection such as an abscess or that result from kidney failure. Non-technical equivalent blood poisoning.
2. A serious complication that sometimes occurs in late pregnancy or just after the birth and which is characterized by a sudden increase in the mother's blood pressure, oedema and the presence of abnormally high levels of protein in the urine. Compare eclampsia, pre-eclampsia.

Form: toxaemia of pregnancy (in full)

Derivative: toxaemic
adj

Etymology: 19c: from Latin toxicum poison (see toxic) + haima blood.