Phlegmasia
/flɛɡˈmeɪ.ʒə/noun
A medical condition marked by inflammation, especially a severe swelling of a limb caused by blocked veins.
Did you know?Phlegmasia is built on the same Greek root as phlegm, but in ancient medicine that root was tied to burning inflammation and bodily heat, not just mucus.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
phlegma
“inflammation, bodily heat; later also mucus or phlegm”
Late Greek
Greek
phlegmasia
“inflammation”
Medieval Latin
Latin
phlegmasia
“inflammation, especially in medical writing”
16th–19th Century
English
phlegmasia
“a medical term for inflammation, especially severe inflammatory swelling”
Modern English
English
phlegmasia
“a severe inflammatory condition, especially of a limb”
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