hypo-, hyp-

Breathing that is shallower, and/or slower, than normal: Hypopnea is characterized by frequent pauses or cessations of air flow in breathing while sleeping during the night.

1. Decreased or reduced secretion of saliva.
2. Abnormally decreased salivation, as in xerostomia; also termed, hyposalivation and hyposialosis.

In entomology, situated under the end of the adomen.

Decreased internal secretion of the testicles.

Under the nose; moustached.

Extreme anasarca (effusion of serum into the cellular substance, occasioning a soft, pale, inelastic swelling of the skin) of the subcutaneous connective tissue.

Pertaining to an abnormally low response to bodily functions or reactions: The hyposensitiveness of Carol's sister to the pain in her broken kneecap resulted in her not seeking medical attention for several days because she thought it was just a bruise.

1. A defect in the sense of smell.
2. An abnormally deficient ability of smelling.
3. A reduced ability to detect and to recognize odors.

A sniff of hope for people with damaged smelling capabilities

• There have been few treatments for the condition of the loss of the sense of smelling.
• There is now hope that a long-established asthma drug may help to restore one's smelling.
• Research has shown that levels of two proteins in the nasal lining, called cAMP and cGMP , are low in people with hyposmia.
• Some people have received various doses of theophylline, a drug used to treat asthma, which is known to inhibit the breakdown of cAMP and cGMP.
• At the end of the treatment, 70 percent of the people with hyposmia had an improved sense of smelling, according to standard tests.
• The improvements disappeared when people stopped taking the drug.
• Hyposmia affects around 20 million people in the U.S. alone.
• It can be started by allergies, viral infections, and head injuries.

1. A condition of getting insufficient sleep: "At the emergency ward, Dr. Smith was suffering from hyposomnia because of having to work constantly day and night as a result of a lack of doctors at the hospital."
2. Etymology: from Greek hypo, "reduced amount" + Latin -somnia, somnus, "sleep".

Characteristic of a person having insufficient sleep: Mrs. Black finally went to her doctor complaining that she could never slept more than three hours during the night because she was having nightmares about the unruly and undisciplined children in her classroom. The doctor told her the condition was called a hyposomniac health problem.

A decrease in or a lack of normal sleep: Steve was becoming invariably nervous about his insecure job situation and so he was waking up earlier and sleeping less and this hyposomny was causing him serious health problems.

1. An increase or build-up of blood in an organ or in the lower parts of a body: Hypostasis was detected by the doctor when he diagnosed Aunt Jessie with poor blood circulation, caused by the influence of gravity, when she was nearing the end of her life.
2. One of the persons of the Trinity: The hypostasis of Christ depicts the unity of the divine and human natures.
3. The stifling of a gene under the influence of an unrelated gene: Hypostasis is a biological or organic process which takes place in living organisms.
4. The most important or vital part of an idea or experience: Different types of hypostasis can be the core, the essence, or the center of a concept or of something significant.