Definition

A medical condition where there is too much carbon dioxide in the blood, often due to not breathing enough.

Example

The patient was diagnosed with hypercapnia after the doctor noticed high levels of carbon dioxide in his blood.

Conversation

I read an article about hypercapnia the other day.

Oh really? What does that mean?

It's basically when there's too much carbon dioxide in the blood.

That sounds serious! How does it happen?

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Hypercapnia is formed from "hyper-" (meaning excessive) and "capnia" (from Greek "kapnos", meaning smoke or carbon dioxide). The term describes a condition of having an excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.

Memory Tip

Think of 'hyper-' meaning excessive and 'capnia' relating to carbon dioxide — this helps you remember that hypercapnia refers to having too much carbon dioxide.

Visually Confused Words