noun
hematoma
hee-muh-TOH-muh
noun
1
A swollen, bruise-like lump caused by blood pooling outside a broken blood vessel.
"He developed a large hematoma on his shin after banging it against the coffee table."
"The scan showed a small hematoma that the doctors expected to reabsorb on its own."
How to Use Hematoma
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA pooling of blood under the skin from a broken vessel — basically a deep, swollen bruise.
Common mistake
Not the same as a simple bruise (contusion); a hematoma involves a distinct pocket or lump of collected blood, not just discoloration.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
hematomas plural, hematomata plural
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He developed a large _____ on his shin after banging it against the coffee table.
Etymology
From Greek haima ("blood") plus the medical suffix -oma, which usually marks a tumor or growth — hematoma is one of the rare exceptions where -oma doesn't mean cancer.