In medicine, ischemia (Greek ισχαιμία, isch- restriction, hema or haema blood) is a restriction in blood supply, generally due to factors in the blood vessels, with resultant damage or dysfunction of tissue. It may also be spelled ischaemia or ischæmia. Mechanism Rather than hypoxia (a more general term denoting a shortage of oxygen, usually a result of lack of oxygen in the air being breathed), ischemia is an absolute or relative shortage of the blo… (More on Ischemia)