Definition

A medical condition where a part of the body, usually the heart or brain, suffers damage due to a lack of blood supply, leading to tissue death.

Example

The patient was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction after experiencing severe chest pain.

Conversation

Did you hear about the health scare Mark had last week?

Yeah, I heard he had an infarction and had to go to the hospital.

It really makes you think about how important our health is.

Absolutely, we should all get regular check-ups to avoid something like that.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Infarction is formed from "in-" (meaning into) and "farctio" (from Latin "farctus", meaning to stuff or fill). The term refers to the process of tissue being filled or stuffed with blood due to obstruction, leading to localized death of tissue.

Memory Tip

Think of 'filling' ('farctio') something 'into' ('in-') — that's why infarction refers to tissue being filled with blood due to blockage.

Visually Confused Words