leukopenia

or leu·co·pe·ni·a

[ loo-kuh-pee-nee-uh ]

noun

, Medicine/Medical.

1. a decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood.

Other Words From

• leuko·penic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of leukopenia¹

1895–1900; < New Latin leucopenia, equivalent to leuco- leuko- + Greek penía poverty, akin to pénesthai to be poor, toil; -ia

Example Sentences

Skaar’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that he suffers from leukopenia, described as a condition that can be caused by exposure to radiation.

From Seattle Times

Dorchy, his mother said, has a blood disorder called leukopenia, which leaves his immune system weakened.

From Washington Post

Uncomplicated measles too, generally runs its course with a marked leukopenia, specially distinct during the breaking out and at the height of the exanthem.

From Project Gutenberg

Eosinophils and basophils way up—twenty and fifteen per cent respectively—a relative rise rather than an absolute one—leukopenia, no doubt about it.

From Project Gutenberg

These cases of infectious leukopenia are to be explained, not by a destruction of white corpuscles, but rather by a diminished inflow, brought about by the circulation of substances negatively chemiotactic for the polynuclear elements.

From Project Gutenberg