Iontophoresis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical procedure that utilizes an electric current to promote the movement of ions across the skin barrier for therapeutic effects
2. A therapeutic technique using electrical stimulation to enable the delivery of charged molecules through the skin for various treatments
3. A therapeutic method that employs electrical currents to facilitate the transfer of ions through the skin for medical benefits

Etymology: Iontophoresis is a compound built from "ion" and the Greek "phorēsis," meaning "a carrying" or "being carried," from "pherein," "to bear." The first element comes from Greek "ion," "going," the present participle of "ienai," "to go," because ions were named for their movement toward electrodes. Michael Faraday coined "ion" in 1834, on the advice of the Cambridge scholar William Whewell, who suggested the Greek term. The "-phoresis" ending is a classical formation: "phoresis" was used in Greek for carrying or transport, and scientists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries borrowed it to name processes involving movement, such as electrophoresis, the migration of charged particles in an electric field. Iontophoresis follows that pattern, joining the two ideas into a single term for moving ions with electricity. The compound is a modern scientific coinage, not an ancient one. Its meaning is literal: a current drives charged molecules, which are ions or are charged drug molecules, across the skin, where the method is used for treatments such as delivering medication locally.