Definition of "bacteremia" [bac•ter•e•mi•a]

• The presence of bacteria in the blood. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So basically she did not have at any time a raging infection, but she had an infection which initially started with what we call a bacteremia, or an invasion of blood by bacteria, which was later on controlled by antibiotics."
• "The bug that sparked much of this research activity is streptococcus pneumoniae, which can cause invasive pneumoccocal diseases such as a bloodstream infection known as bacteremia; and meningitis, which is an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord."
• ""It" is bacterial infection in the blood, also called bacteremia, and it's a major part of the very serious illness called sepsis."