Lymphocytosis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition marked by an elevated count of lymphocytes in the bloodstream can suggest an immune reaction to pathogens or ongoing inflammatory processes
2. Increased levels of lymphocytes in the circulatory system may be indicative of infections or chronic medical conditions leading to an immune response
3. A medical state characterized by an abnormal increase in lymphocyte numbers in the blood, often associated with infections or immune disorders inducing inflammation

Etymology: "Lymphocytosis" is a medical term built from two parts. The first, "lymphocyte," is a compound of "lymph," the pale fluid that circulates through the body's vessels, and "cyte," from Greek "kytos," meaning "hollow vessel" or "cell." Lymphocytes are the white blood cells that play a central role in immune defense. The second part, "-osis," is a suffix from Greek used in medicine to denote an abnormal or diseased condition, so the term describes a state in which lymphocytes are abnormally numerous in the blood. The word therefore follows a common pattern in clinical language: a cell name with a condition suffix attached. Doctors use the same pattern for related terms such as "leukocytosis," meaning an excess of white blood cells generally, and "erythrocytosis," meaning an excess of red blood cells.