hypo-, hyp-

1. A condition in which the level of carbon dioxide in the blood is lower than normal which can result from deep or rapid breathing.
2. Abnormally decreased arterial carbon dioxide tension; hypocarbia.

In architecture, an open space below a floor to allow the passage of hot air and smoke in order to heat the room above.

This type of heating was developed to a high degree by the Romans who used it not only in the warm and hot rooms of the baths, but also almost universally in private houses in the northern provinces.

Many examples of such hypocausts exist in villa and house foundations in Roman centers in Germany and England. The usual custom was to lead the smoke from a hypocaust into a single vertical flue through which it escaped into the open air.

The word comes from Latin hypocaustum, and previously from Greek hypokauston and ultimately from Greek hypokaiein, "to light a fire beneath".

1. Pertaining to the region of the hypochondrium or the upper lateral region on each side of the body and below the thorax; beneath the ribs.
2. An individual with an abnormal and excessive interest in and fear of disease, especially in people who are otherwise healthy.
3. A disorder characterized by a misinterpretation of physical signs that leads to the belief of having a seriouis disease even though repeated evaluations show no indications of any physical disorder.

A morbid concern about one's own health and exaggerated attention to any unusual bodily or mental sensations; a delusion that one is suffering from some disease for which no physical basis is evident. Synonyms: hypochondria, hypochondriacal neurosis.