A condition marked by the presence of fermented or decomposed material in the blood, or blood poisoning from internal fermentation.
From Greek haima (blood) + zymosis (fermentation/process of enzymes). This archaic medical term emerged in the 1800s when doctors believed some blood infections were caused by fermentation processes.
This term shows how old ideas about disease can seem weird now—Victorian doctors really did think some blood diseases were caused by things fermenting inside your veins! We now know bacteria and toxins cause blood poisoning, not spontaneous fermentation.
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