Lymphocytapheresis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical procedure in which lymphocytes are selectively removed from a patient's blood and the remaining blood is returned to the body
2. A therapeutic technique that separates and collects lymphocytes from the bloodstream while returning other blood components to the patient
3. A clinical process that extracts white blood cells called lymphocytes from blood through a machine, then reinfuses the processed blood back into the patient

Etymology: Lymphocytapheresis is a modern medical coinage, built in the 20th century from Greek and Latin parts rather than inherited from any ancient vocabulary. Its first element, "lymphocyte," combines "lympha," the Latin word for clear water or spring water, with "kytos," the Greek word for a hollow vessel or cell. The name for the cell type dates from the late 19th century, when microscopists needed labels for the small white blood cells they were seeing under the lens. The second element, "apheresis," comes from Greek "aphairesis," meaning "a taking away" or "removal," from "apo" (away) and "hairein" (to take). Medicine adopted it for procedures that separate and remove one component of blood while returning the rest to the body. Put together, the word names a process in which a machine draws off blood, isolates the lymphocytes, and returns everything else to the patient.

Synonyms: lymphapheresis