Agranulocytoses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A severe decrease in the number of neutrophils in the blood, leading to increased susceptibility to infections
2. A medical condition where bone marrow fails to produce enough neutrophils, causing a lack of defense against pathogens
3. A potentially dangerous drop in white blood cells, particularly affecting the immune response and increasing infection risk

Etymology: "Agranulocytoses" is the plural of "agranulocytosis," a medical term for a sharp drop in the body's neutrophils, the white blood cells that fight bacterial infection. The name is a plain technical construction built from Greek parts: the prefix "a-," meaning "without," attached to "granulocyte," a white blood cell whose cytoplasm contains visible granules, and the suffix "-osis," used in medicine for an abnormal or diseased condition. Read literally, the name says "a condition of being without granulocytes." Granulocytes are a family of white blood cells, of which neutrophils are the most common, so the term describes the loss of that cell population rather than the loss of every white cell. Because "granulocyte" itself was coined in modern scientific writing from Greek roots, the whole term is a product of modern medicine rather than ancient usage.

Synonyms: agranulocytopenia, granulocyte deficiency, neutropenia

Antonyms: leukocytosis, granulocytosis