Hematemesis
/ˌhiːmətˈɛməsɪs/noun
The vomiting of blood, usually from bleeding in the upper digestive tract.
Did you know?Ancient Greek physicians used related terms for vomiting, while modern hematemesis specifically describes blood expelled from the upper gastrointestinal tract rather than blood coughed from the lungs.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
αἷμα (haîma)
“Blood”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἔμεσις (émesis)
“Vomiting or the act of throwing up”
Hellenistic medical Greek
Greek
αἱματέμεσις (haimatémesis)
“Vomiting blood”
Late Classical–Medieval medicine
Greek/Latin
haematemesis
“Medical term for blood-vomiting”
19th Century
English
hematemesis
“Vomiting blood, adopted into modern English medical vocabulary”
Modern English
English
hematemesis
“The expulsion of blood by vomiting, commonly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding”
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