starvation acidosis
- noun
- /stɑrˈveɪʃən əˈsɪdəs/
- Specialized
- After several days without food, the patient developed starvation acidosis as the body broke down fat for energy.
Examples
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Clinicians should monitor for starvation acidosis in patients who are fasting or unable to eat.
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Starved animals often display starvation acidosis as their bodies switch to using fat reserves.
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After several days without food, the patient developed starvation acidosis due to increased fat breakdown.
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The patient suffered from starvation acidosis due to prolonged fasting.
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Can starvation acidosis lead to more severe health issues?
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Clinicians should monitor for starvation acidosis in patients who are unable to eat properly for extended periods.
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When they are denied food for too long, many animals can suffer from starvation acidosis, indicating severe metabolic changes.
Synonyms
A condition with too much acid in the blood and body tissues
A serious condition when the body makes too much acid in the blood, often in people with diabetes
A condition where body fluids have too much acid, often from kidney failure
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound's meaning is directly derivable from its parts: 'starvation' (lack of food) + 'acidosis' (excess acidity), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to acidosis caused by starvation. This is a literal, compositional medical compound common cross-linguistically, not an idiomatic or metaphorical use.
Etymology
The term starvation acidosis comes from the simple picture of starvation: when the body has no food it burns fat and makes acidic chemicals called 'ketones'. Those acids cause acidosis, so the phrase means 'too much acid in the blood' caused by lack of food.