la caquexia
cachexia
Definition & meaning
Caquexia is a severe medical condition involving profound weight loss, muscle wasting, weakness, and deterioration of general health. It usually results from an underlying chronic illness, such as advanced cancer, heart failure, chronic infection, or severe inflammatory disease.
Unlike ordinary weight loss, caquexia is not corrected simply by eating more. It involves complex metabolic and inflammatory changes that cause the body to break down muscle and fat.
In English, it is called cachexia.
Grammar & Word origin
The word comes through Latin cachexia from Ancient Greek kakheksía, meaning “bad condition” or “poor state of the body”:
- kakós = bad
- héxis = condition, state, or constitution
In modern Spanish, caquexia is a medical term and is not normally analyzed as a combination of productive Spanish parts.
Synonyms & antonyms
Possible Spanish synonyms include:
- emaciación : extreme thinness or wasting; it describes the visible physical result and is somewhat broader than caquexia.
- consunción : progressive wasting away, often used in medical or literary contexts.
- desgaste físico extremo : an explanatory phrase rather than a precise medical synonym.
There is no exact everyday antonym. Depending on the context, contrasting expressions include:
- buen estado nutricional : adequate nutritional condition.
- robustez : physical strength and healthy bodily constitution.
- recuperación : improvement or restoration of health.
These are contextual opposites, not strict dictionary antonyms.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
La caquexia requiere atención médica inmediata.noun
Cachexia requires immediate medical attention.
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