haem-

American  

Chiefly British.

1. variant of hem-.

   haemangioma.

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haem ¹ British  

/ hiːm /

noun

1. biochem a complex red organic pigment containing ferrous iron, present in haemoglobin

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haem- ² British  

combining form

1. Also (US): hem-.  a variant (before a vowel) of haemo-

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Usage

What does haem- mean? Haem- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “blood.” It is used in many medical terms, especially in pathology.Haem- comes from the Greek haîma, meaning “blood.”Chiefly used in British English, the combining form haem- is a variant of hem-, itself a variant of hemo- before a vowel.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use hem- and hemo- articles. Historically, haem- has been written as hæm-, featuring a ligature of the a and e.Other variants of haem- used like hemo- are hema-, hemat-, and hemato-. As with haem-, all these combining forms are often spelled with an additional a in British English, as in haema-, haemo-, haemat-, and haemato-.Also closely related to haem- are -aemia, -emia, -haemia, and -hemia, which are combined to the ends of words to denote blood conditions.

Etymology

Origin of haem

C20: shortened from _haematin