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asphyxia

8 dictionary results for: asphyxia

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

as⋅phyx⋅i⋅a

[as-fik-see-uh]

–noun Pathology.

the extreme condition caused by lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood, produced by interference with respiration or insufficient oxygen in the air; suffocation.

Origin:
1700–10; < NL < Gk asphyxía a stopping of the pulse, equiv. to a- a- ⁶ + sphýx(is) pulse + -ia -ia

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

as·phyx·i·a (ās-fĭk'sē-ə) Pronunciation Key
n. A condition in which an extreme decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide leads to loss of consciousness or death. Asphyxia can be induced by choking, drowning, electric shock, injury, or the inhalation of toxic gases.

[New Latin, from Greek asphuxiā, stopping of the pulse : a-, not; see a-¹ + sphuxis, heartbeat (from sphuzein, sphug-, to throb).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
asphyxia

1706, "stoppage of pulse," from Mod.L., from Gk. asphyxia "stopping of the pulse," from a- "not" + sphyzein "to throb." The current sense of "suffocation" is from 1778, but it is a "curious infelicity of etymology" [OED] since victims of suffocation have a pulse for some time after breathing has stopped. Asphyxiate is first recorded 1836, originally transitive.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

asphyxia
noun
a condition in which insufficient or no oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged on a ventilatory basis; caused by choking or drowning or electric shock or poison gas

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

asphyxia (ās-fĭk'sē-ə) Pronunciation Key

A condition characterized by an extreme decrease in the amount of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase of carbon dioxide, caused by an an inability to breathe. Asphyxia usually results in loss of consciousness and sometimes death.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

asphyxia as·phyx·i·a (ās-fĭk'sē-ə)
n.
A condition in which an extreme decrease in the amount of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase of carbon dioxide leads to loss of consciousness or death.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: as·phyx·ia
Pronunciation: as-'fik-sE-&, &s-
Function: noun
: a lack of oxygen or excess of carbon dioxide in the body thatis usually caused by interruption of breathing and that causes unconsciousness —compare SUFFOCATION —as·phyx·i·al /-sE-&l/ adjective

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Asphyxia

As*phyx"i*a\, Asphyxy \As*phyx"y\, n. [NL. asphyxia, fr. Gr. ?; 'a priv. + ? to throb, beat.] (Med.) Apparent death, or suspended animation; the condition which results from interruption of respiration, as in suffocation or drowning, or the inhalation of irrespirable gases.

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