Working against plethora (excess blood or bodily humors); used to describe medical treatments that reduce excess fluid in the body.
From anti- (against) + plethoric (full of excess, from Greek plethore, fullness). A medical term from the era of humoralism describing treatments that drew down excessive bodily fluids.
When doctors believed in 'plethora'—too much blood causing disease—'antiplethoric' bloodletting seemed perfectly scientific. This word is a relic from medicine's humoral theory era, reminding us how wrong confident doctors can be.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.