hemo-

Hemo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “blood.” It is used in many medical terms, especially in pathology.

Hemo- comes from the Greek ��î����, meaning “blood.”

������ are variants of hemo-?

There are many variants of the combining form hemo-.

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, hemo- becomes hem-, as in hemal. Other variants of hemo- are hema-, hemato-, and hemat-.

In British English, these combining forms are often spelled with an additional a, as in haemo-, haem-, haema-, haemato-, and haemat-. Historically, these forms have been spelled with a ligature of the a and e, as in �����-.

Closely related to hemo- are -aemia, -emia, -haemia, and -hemia, which are combined to the ends of words to denote blood conditions.

You can learn all about the specific applications for each of these forms at our Words That Use articles for them.

One example of a medical term that you may have encountered that features the combining form hemo- is hemocyte, meaning “blood cell.”

The hemo- part of hemocyte means “blood.” The second part of the word, -cyte, is a combining form that means “cell.” Hemocyte literally translates to “blood cell.”

And a hemorrhage, from the Greek �󲹾����ǰ����󲹲�í��, is “a profuse discharge of blood.” The -rhhage part of the word means “rupture, profuse discharge, abnormal flow.” So, hemorrhage is literally an “abnormal flow of blood.”

Finally, you’ve probably heard of (and hopefully haven’t gotten) a hemorrhoid, an abnormally large vein in the anorectal area. It comes from the Greek �󲹾����ǰ�����Ḿ���, meaning “discharghing blood.”

������ are some words that use the combining form hemo-?

• hemoblast
• hemochrome
• hemoglobin
• hemonephrosis
• hemopathy
• hemophilia
• hemophiliac
• hemophobia
• hemolith
• hemolysis
• hemotroph

������ are some other forms that hemo- may be commonly confused with?

• chemi–
• chemo-
• hemangio-
• hemi-
• homo-
• homeo-

The combining form -phobia means “fear.” With that in mind, what is hemophobia?