cachexia

[ kuh-kek-see-uh ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. general ill health with emaciation, usually occurring in association with cancer or a chronic infectious disease.

cachexia

/ kəˈkɛksɪə; kəˈkɛksɪ; kəˈkɛktɪk /

noun

1. a generally weakened condition of body or mind resulting from any debilitating chronic disease

cachexia

/ kə-kĕk′sē-ə /

1. Severe weight loss, anorexia, and general debility that occur as a result of chronic disease. Cachetic patients exhibit signs of malnutrition, including muscle wasting.

Derived Forms

• cachectic, adjective

Other Words From

• ca·chec·tic [k, uh, -, kek, -tik], ca·checti·cal ca·chexic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cachexia¹

1535–45; < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to kak ( ós ) bad + héx ( is ) condition ( hek-, variant stem of échein to have + -sis -sis ) + -ia -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of cachexia¹

C16: from Late Latin from Greek kakhexia, from kakos bad + hexis condition, habit

Example Sentences

"This discovery could have implications for cancer patients who experience cachexia, or muscle wasting due to the disease and its treatments."

From Science Daily

Even if cachexia doesn’t directly kill a patient, it makes them sicker, weaker, and less able to tolerate chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

From Science Magazine

If so, the finding could lead to effective ways to curtail cachexia before it ravages the body.

From Science Magazine

His fellow cachexia researchers have been eagerly sharing the study on social media, he says, “and it seems like they’re really excited to follow up on it.”

From Science Magazine

They measured thousands of metabolites in the blood of either healthy mice or mice that developed cachexia after being injected with lung cancer cells.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• affliction
• ailment
• disease
• malady
• sickness