thalassemia (n.)

before vowels thalass-, word-forming element meaning "sea, the sea," from Greek thalassa "the sea" (in Homer, when used of a particular sea, "the Mediterranean," as opposed to ōkeanos), a word from the Pre-Greek substrate language. In Attic Greek thalatta, hence sometimes thalatto-.

word-forming element in pathology meaning "condition of the blood," Modern Latin combining form of Greek haima (genitive haimatos) "blood," a word of no established etymology (replacing the usual IE word, represented in Greek by ear; possibly from uncertain PIE root *sei- "to drip" (compare Old High German seim "virgin honey," Welsh hufen), but according to Beekes this proposal "cannot explain the Greek vocalism."