LEUKAPHERESES Meaning and
Definition
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Leukapheresis is a medical procedure used to remove white blood cells from the bloodstream. It is a type of apheresis, which is a process of separating blood components.
During leukapheresis, a machine extracts blood from the patient's body and separates the white blood cells from the other blood components such as red blood cells and plasma. The separated white blood cells are then collected and the remaining blood is re-infused back into the body.
Leukapheresis is typically performed for therapeutic purposes in patients with certain conditions like leukemia or lymphoma, where there is an excessive production of abnormal white blood cells. By removing these abnormal white blood cells, leukapheresis aims to reduce the number of disease-causing cells in the body.
Moreover, leukapheresis is also used as a measure to collect healthy white blood cells from donors for various medical procedures such as stem cell transplantation. The collected white blood cells can be stored and used later for an allogeneic transplant, where the donor's white blood cells are transferred to the recipient to replace or supplement their own immune system.
Overall, leukapheresis serves as both a therapeutic and preparatory procedure in various medical situations, aiming to improve patient outcomes by effectively managing white blood cell counts in the body.
Common Misspellings for LEUKAPHERESES
- keukaphereses
- peukaphereses
- oeukaphereses
- lwukaphereses
- lsukaphereses
- ldukaphereses
- lrukaphereses
- l4ukaphereses
- l3ukaphereses
- leykaphereses
- lehkaphereses
- lejkaphereses
- leikaphereses
- le8kaphereses
- le7kaphereses
- leujaphereses
- leumaphereses
- leulaphereses
- leuoaphereses
- leuiaphereses
Etymology of LEUKAPHERESES
The word "Leukapheresis" is derived from Greek roots.
The term "leuko-" comes from the Greek word "leukos", meaning "white". In medical terminology, "leuk-" or "leuko-" is often associated with white blood cells.
The suffix "-apheresis" is also derived from Greek. It comes from the word "aphairesis", which means "a taking away" or "a removal". In medical terms, "-apheresis" is commonly used to refer to a process of removing or separating particular components of blood.
Therefore, "Leukapheresis" refers to a medical procedure that involves the removal of white blood cells from the blood, typically done for therapeutic or experimental purposes.
