Antihemorrhagic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Serving to prevent or check the flow of blood from a wound or vessel, especially through medicinal action
2. Describing a substance or treatment that halts bleeding by promoting clotting or constricting blood vessels
3. Having the property of arresting hemorrhage, as with certain drugs, agents or procedures used to control bleeding

Etymology: Hemorrhage comes from Greek "haimorrhagia," literally "blood-bursting," built from "haima" (blood) and "rhegnynai" (to burst forth). Hemorrhagic is the adjective form, and anti- is the Greek prefix "anti" meaning "against" or "opposite to." Put together, antihemorrhagic describes something that works against bleeding, a substance or treatment that checks the flow of blood. The word is a straightforward modern formation rather than an ancient one. English speakers simply attached the familiar prefix to the medical adjective "hemorrhagic," producing a term for agents that stop or prevent bleeding. Its meaning follows the parts exactly, with no surprising shift along the way.

Synonyms: hemostatic, styptic