What is "pyaemia"

Pyaemia \Py*[ae]"mi*a\, Pyemia \Py*e"mi*a\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? pus + ? blood.] (Med.) A form of blood poisoning produced by the absorption of pyogenic microorganisms into the blood, usually from a wound or local inflammation. It is characterized by multiple abscesses throughout the body, and is attended with irregularly recurring chills, fever, profuse sweating, and exhaustion. -- Py*[ae]"mic, Py*e"mic, a.

n. (context pathology English) A type of septicemia caused usually by the presence of ''Staphylococcus'' bacteria in the bloodstream; characterised by metastatic abscesses and other symptoms associated with septicemia.

n. septicemia caused by pus-forming bacteria released from an abscess [syn: pyemia]

Pyaemia (or pyemia) is a type of septicaemia that leads to widespread abscesses of a metastatic nature. It is usually caused by the staphylococcus bacteria by pus-forming organisms in the blood. Apart from the distinctive abscesses, pyaemia exhibits the same symptoms as other forms of septicaemia. It was almost universally fatal before the introduction of antibiotics.

Sir William Osler included a three-page discussion of pyaemia in his textbook The Principles and Practice of Medicine, published in 1892. He defined pyaemia as follows:

Earlier still, Ignaz Semmelweis – who would later die of the disease – included a section titled "Childbed fever is a variety of pyaemia" in his treatise, The Etiology of Childbed Fever (1861). Jane Grey Swisshelm, in her autobiography titled Half a Century, describes the treatment of pyaemia in 1862 during the American Civil War.