Oxymetry

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A technique used in healthcare to accurately measure the levels of oxygen saturation in the blood
2. A method for determining how much oxygen is present in the blood for medical evaluation purposes
3. A procedure that assesses the concentration of oxygen within blood vessels to monitor respiratory function

Etymology: Oxymetry is a modern medical coinage, not an ancient one. It combines "oxy-", from the Greek "oxys" meaning "sharp" or "acid" and used in chemistry to mean oxygen, with the Greek suffix "-metry", meaning measurement, as in "thermometry" or "geometry." The result is a plain descriptive name for measuring oxygen, with no older sense behind it. The term is largely overshadowed by its cousin "oximetry," which is the form most clinicians and dictionaries use. The shorter spelling "oximetry" joins "oxi-" (from oxygen) with "-metry," and it is the standard name for the technique behind pulse oximeters, the clip-like devices that estimate blood oxygen saturation by shining light through a fingertip. Because the two spellings differ by a single letter, "oxymetry" is best understood as a variant spelling of the same measurement.