Meaning & use
haematoma
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedicalspecialist
a collection of blood outside the blood vessels, usually caused by an injury and forming a swelling under the skin or in an organ.
Grammar: Countable: a haematoma, several haematomas. In medical writing it is often used with the name of the place: a subdural haematoma.
Patterns
- a haematoma forms
- develop a haematoma
- subdural haematoma
The scan showed a small haematoma on his thigh after the fall.
Doctors drained the haematoma to relieve the pressure.
A subdural haematoma can be serious and needs urgent medical attention.
Word forms
| plural | haematomas |
|---|---|
| plural | haematomata |
Common combinations
- subdural haematoma
- The patient was treated for a subdural haematoma after hitting his head.
- develop a haematoma
- Some people develop a haematoma after a minor injury.
- large haematoma
- The doctor said the large haematoma would slowly disappear.
- drain a haematoma
- Surgeons sometimes drain a haematoma to reduce pain.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bruise
- Bruise is the everyday word for a minor haematoma near the skin; haematoma is the medical term and can also refer to deeper collections of blood.
- blood clot
- Blood clot usually means blood that has thickened inside a vessel, while a haematoma is blood that has leaked outside the vessels.
Word family
- hematoma noun
- American spelling of the same medical term.
- haematology noun
- The medical study of blood and blood disorders.
- haematologist noun
- A doctor who specializes in blood diseases.
Commonly confused: haematoma or hematoma?
haematoma vs hematoma
Hematoma is simply the American spelling; haematoma is the British spelling. Both refer to the same medical condition.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
A haematoma is a collection of blood caused by injury, so it fits an injury on the arm. It is not a bone, a medicine, or an animal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “haematoma”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.