vampirism

A term that has been applied to a broad array of conditions and situations that the original authors of various reports linked to some aspect of mythical blood-sucking human vampires, or the fictional Count Dracula
Lab medicine Anaemia of investigation, iatrogenic anaemia, nosocomial anaemia, vampirism A fanciful and completely unnecessary synonym for hypochromic anaemia resulting from multiple phlebotomies, which is especially common in ITU/ICU patients
Anaemia of investigation can be reduced in frequency and severity by using paediatric—2.5–3.0 mL—instead of adult sized—4.5–10 mL—blood collection tubes
Medspeak A term coined in 1995 referring to the decrease of serum proteins—hypoalbuminemia and lipids-hypocholesterolemia—which was linked to sufferers’ frequent sale of plasma
Medical history Porphyria has been proposed as an explanation for the vampire legend, based on certain real or perceived similarities between the two. The similarities between porphyria and vampire syndrome include (1) photosensitivity/sensitivity to the sunlight, resulting in skin pallor in both; (2) congenital erythropoietic porphyria is characterised by very high levels of red-brown or burgundy-red porphyrin pigments with an affinity for calcium phosphate, resulting in incorporation into the teeth during odontogenesis. Permanent teeth range from pink to rare cases of red-brown or purple; (3) madness, sober moods and depression; (4) its occurrence in royals—e.g., Mary Queen of Scots, her father, James V—and, farther east and more linked to the legend, its occurrence in Vlad III the Impaler, aka Prince of Wallachia, aka Dracula; the alleged occurrence of porphyria in George III is far from proven. Systemic lupus has some vampire features, but is not traditionally linked to the vampire myth
Psychiatry Clinical vampirism A deviant behaviour in which blood is ingested, variably accompanied by necrophilia, often in a background of schizophrenia, psychosis, sadomasochism, cultism—e.g., voodoo rituals, cannibalism, fetishism or drug intoxication. See Necrophilia
Psychology Psychic vampire A morose person who, Dracula-like, sucks the life out of others because of his/her negative attitudes. They are gloomy, self-centred and can’t be helped
Sexual health A term of art referring to what some regard as a myth of male child sexual assault, i.e, that boys who are sexually abused, like the victims of Count Dracula, will go on to bite—i.e., sexually abuse—others

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

vampirism

The practice of drinking blood Clinical medicine A quasi-facetious term for excessive blood tests, which causes iatrogenic anemia. See Anemia of investigation Psychiatry A deviant behavior in which blood is ingested, variably accompanied by necrophilia, often in a background of schizophrenia, psychosis, sadomasochism, cult–eg, voodoo rituals, cannibalism, fetishism or drug intoxication. See Necrophilia.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.