What does sapraemia mean?
Sapraemia is an old term for blood poisoning, a potentially fatal condition in which bacteria or their toxins circulate in the bloodstream. It was particularly associated with infected wounds, childbirth, and other infections that could allow microorganisms to spread through the blood. The term is now uncommon in contemporary medicine, having largely been replaced by septicaemia in British usage and septicemia in American usage. Pyaemia is a related but more specific term: although it once carried a similar historical meaning, it now usually refers to bloodstream infection involving pus-forming organisms such as Staphylococcus. In literature and historical records, sapraemia can still appear when describing the dangerous complications of infection before antibiotics and modern antibacterial treatment became available.
nounSapraemia is an archaic term for blood poisoning, especially the condition caused by the multiplication of bacteria or their toxins in the blood.
- The presence of bacteria or their toxins in the bloodstream, resulting in blood poisoning.
- An archaic or historical diagnosis of blood poisoning caused by infection.
"The doctor feared that a neglected wound might have caused sapraemia."
"Pus entering the bloodstream can result in a severe condition known as sapraemia."
"Several soldiers died from sapraemia after wounds became infected."
The plural is rarely needed because the term itself is archaic.
"The records mention several cases of sapraemias following infected wounds."
Sapraemia was once a feared diagnosis, but its name survives mainly in medical history and older literature.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sapraemia come from?
Sapraemia was formed in the 19th century from the combining form sapro-, associated with Greek sapros, meaning rotten or putrefying, and Greek haima, meaning blood. The form reflects the older medical conception of blood poisoning as a putrefactive process within the bloodstream. Its components also survive in modern scientific terms such as saprophyte and saprogenic.
How sapraemia is actually used
This is an obsolete or historical term. Modern medical usage generally prefers septicaemia or septicemia, with the latter spelling especially common in US medical writing.
Easily confused with sapraemia
Sapraemia is a general term for blood poisoning, whereas pyaemia more specifically denotes the presence of pus-forming bacteria in the blood.