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Glite Dictionary
hemotoxic

hemotoxic

8.6
Damaging blood cells and vessels, often causing internal bleeding
  • adjective
  • /ˌhiːməˈtɒkɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hemotóxico
  • Many species of snakes, such as the coral snake, produce hemotoxic venom that destroys red blood cells.
  • hemotoxic venom

Examples

  • The bite of a hemotoxic snake can lead to severe bleeding and damage to blood cells.

  • hemotoxic syndrome I'm afraid

    The Killer Shrews (1959)

  • Hemotoxic agents in certain snake venoms can cause significant tissue damage and may result in organ failure.

Synonyms

hemorrhagic
vshemotoxic
  • Specialized
10 8.1

Causing or involving heavy bleeding inside the body

includes bleeding but also destroys blood cells and damages tissues
hemolytic
vshemotoxic
  • Specialized
3 9.1

Causing red blood cells to break

is broader, also damaging blood vessels and tissues not only blood cells

Surface Forms

hemotoxic positive

Morphology

hemotoxic = toxic (semi-transparent) = hemo + toxic + hemo

The meaning is compositionally 'blood' + 'toxic', but 'hemo-' is a technical combining form not obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Hemotoxic comes from two Greek parts: hemo- meaning 'blood' and -toxic meaning 'poison', the same '-toxic' you find in toxic. So hemotoxic means 'poisonous to the blood', which explains why it describes something that damages blood cells, blood vessels, or causes bleeding.